From the category archives:

Freedom

Does Forgiveness Work If You Don’t Know What You Forgive?

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Do you have instinctive suspicions about something in your past? I am talking about the sense that someone hurt you. Except you cannot quite identify what that person did, or even if it happened in the first place. If you have such suspicions, how should you deal with them?
Here is what sounds like an [...]

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Are Freedom and Joy Two Sides of the Same Coin?

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It is a curious thing about freedom that it makes life more enjoyable.
With a sense of freedom comes a sense of being in an open space. It makes you feel that you can enjoy life more than if you did not have freedom. All things are possible, you think. This makes me wonder if perhaps [...]

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Can We Be Free in Relation to All Things?

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I recently read an interview with a man who says he experiences a strong sense of freedom because he feels bound to his wife. Here is one of his more striking formulations:
“Until I met Laura, I hardly ever felt comfortable or unstrained with other people – or with myself. I don’t think I understood myself [...]

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What Is Wrong with Fear Getting You High on Freedom?

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In a BBC article, UK reporter Justin Webb says Americans get high on freedom because they fear the alternative. Poverty is scary, so you do what you can to avoid it. This makes me wonder how much of our love for freedom is driven by fear.
Even if we are driven by fear a lot, tell me [...]

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Is Too Much Freedom Dangerous?

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Lately, I have been corresponding with a very passionately Republican young man. I love it. I write him an e-mail and he responds within the hour. I write him back two weeks later and he responds within the hour. And so on. All that young energy!
He writes to me about the freedom he wants us [...]

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Personal Freedom: Do Others Give It to You?

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You know the experience when people interrupt you. You are in the middle of something and have to stop what you are doing. So, when others want your attention, it makes you feel like they are robbing you of your time. It also makes you feel that you are not free to do what you [...]

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Why Can We Not Just Be Completely Free?

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I remember being envious of a quadriplegic man. I realized he had a very rich spiritual life and I started comparing my own life to his.
Here is what I thought: ”It has been easier for him to get close to God than it has been for me. He cannot move his arms and legs, which obviously drew [...]

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You Are Not Really Free, Are You?

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Over the past days, I have been asking some friends whether or not they thought of themselves as free. I initiated those conversations because I was personally surprised by a freedom I did not expect. That got me interested in other people’s experience of freedom.
It struck me that each of my friends was reluctant to simply answer, [...]

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Why Does a History of Independence Make You Parade?

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It is 4th of July. Although I have only little of my own identity invested in this American day of celebration, it gives me a kick. Especially watching all those parades.
I stand there, looking at people who have things to show the world. Something they have accomplished, or something they hope to accomplish. Organizations, [...]

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