Sunday Firesides: Are You Making an Escape From Freedom?

“The question is not whether or how to get away from freedom, but rather when and where.”

Freedom is doing what one desires irrespective of its consequences. This means that people should have the freedom to do whatever they want without having to worry about consequences.

It’s a curious thing, freedom.

We fight for it on a societal and individual level. Put up a fight for it.

However, once we get it, we often discover that we do not like it.

As one’s level of independence rises, so does one’s sense of worry, restlessness, and insignificance. While independence may be a thrilling sensation, it can also be a terrifying menace.

In reality, many people attempt to flee from freedom when they experience a disconcerting sense of weightlessness, as sociologist Erich Fromm eloquently phrased it.

Recent college grads go straight to law school. As soon as their current kid is out of diapers, the parents have another child. After leaving a five-year relationship, a young guy begins serious dating again.

These are likely to be excellent decisions.

However, if made instinctively to alleviate the tension of freedom, such choices might merely exchange one set of issues for another, and are at best temporary fixes. Law school comes to a close; children grow up; and another romance comes to an end. And then you’re back to square one.

Do you genuinely want to acquire a graduate degree, or are you worried about not going back to school for the first time in 20 years?

Do you genuinely desire another child, or do you feel lost without the feeling of urgency that caring for a child provides?

Do you really want to be in a relationship or have you just lost your capacity to be alone?

Take some time to enjoy your freedom to seek a new goal if you’re feeling unmoored by your independence from restraints. Choose a route you actually want to follow rather than settling for anything because you don’t know what else to do.

Fighting for freedom needs courage. It turns out that sitting with it requires strength as well.

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The “art of manliness” is a website that provides articles on topics such as masculinity. It also has an article on how to make an escape from freedom.