FREEDOM

A few days back I read a caption at the side of a school bus, “Be the person you want to be.” Immediately it struck me that something was wrong in the caption. I thought it was totally misleading because we are not here on earth to become what we want to become but we are here in this world to become what one needs or ought to become.



No wonder, misled by such captions, many youngsters understand freedom in its entirely misplaced perspective. Therefore many of them want to become what they want to become and do whatever they want to do. This tendency is very destructive and damaging.


 Freedom is not in following every desire of one’s heart but it is in following what is good for oneself and equally good for others. Freedom is in seeking everyone’s well-being. Consider if there were no signals on the roads. Everybody drove as they wanted. What would happen? There would be complete chaos and confusion on the road which could lead to fights and accidents. In the same manner, one cannot behave as one wishes.


 Freedom demands change. Those persons who are open to change exhibit their wisdom and are on the road to true freedom which leads to growth. The fools never change. They fail to understand that only if they let go, they can let in. Freedom is not static. It is a movement towards proper growth and progress.

— Shiju B. Samuel, Nagpur