DAY 57 – KEY ASPECT: FREEDOM VERSUS RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM

I am taking a hike on the side of a mountain overlooking a beautiful valley below filled with trees as far as the eyes can see. There are birds flying over the treetops with a freedom that lets them soar. The tranquility of the setting is so peaceful that I just want to take it in.

I start to think about the freedom that the birds have to be just birds. Their lives are filled with searching for food and flying from one location to another. Human beings, on the other hand, have a mind that enables us to think about life and make choices along with a dexterity to carry out those choices that birds and other life forms do not have.

The choices that human beings make can be profound. We can alter our environment by bulldozing through a mountain or going around it. We can grow food in the most hospitable and difficult regions while leaving large segments of humanity without this absolute necessity. We can keep our waterways and oceans clean or dump pollutants into them. We can disparage and hate our fellow human beings or we can welcome everyone with open arms into the human community. We can build upon what our ancestors have bequeathed to us or tear down the fabric of a better world. There is a profound difference between having the freedom to think and act as each of us wants versus living freely while doing it in a responsible manner.

The only restrictions a free human being has is what each of us place on ourselves. If someone wants to verbally insult their spouse or child what is there to stop them. If someone does not want to consider their actions in relation to what is also best for humanity there is no law against it. If someone does not want to volunteer in their community to help those in need no one will knock on their door and force them to help others.

The better world that human beings want to live in requires all of us to act with a responsibility to one another. We have to take into consideration the welfare of all of our fellow human beings and the earth when we do what we do. We need to think about the consequences of our actions that will not only impact our world today but also have far reaching effects on future generations. The more personal and societal problems we prevent from developing the better the world becomes.

As I came to the end of walking through this beautiful and tranquil mountain setting I now realize that there is a significant difference between living life with the freedom to think and act as I wish to do versus living life with a higher responsibility than just to myself and the people I love. When we work together for a better future for all of humanity we are living life in a very responsible manner.