Live Free

Short, philosophical journal entry on my idea of living freely

When we are born, we are completely unknowing beings. We know not of the atrocities of war, the power of love and compassion. Hell, all we really know is how to cry, suckle, and wince. The truest beauty in the world can be found here, a new life, a "tabula rasa". For the next 18-20 years, parents, peers, and authority figures will bend and shape this new, yet familiar life form into the person they will become. 

The relationships that we take part in, voluntarily or involuntarily, all have an influence on our future thoughts and actions. The more we trust a person, the more influence we give them on our psyche. This is why people of high speaking abilities can harness a cult to do their dirty work. Once the trust is built the sheep follow. I believe living freely is when one forgets their prejudices, and forgets the lies and misconceptions they have built around themselves, and even about themselves (tear down the wall, as Pink Floyd would say). Then rises like the phoenix, and comes out with an unbiased mentality. With no bias in your thoughts and decisions, comes clear thoughts and clear decisions. Essentially, my version of freedom, is to be completely free-thinking and open minded.

I understand that this might seem to be a daunting task, but i assure you it's not. Here's the process I used to obtain a more unbiased mentality in a step-by-step format.*NOTE*: (In order for this to work we must be at a mutual understanding that the person you are, and the person you present yourself to be, are not always the same person per se. So being completely honest with yourself is vital.)

1. Think about your most staunch of standpoints, contemplate why you believe it so strongly, and what made you feel that way originally. 

2. Now think about the opposite viewpoint (or most different, if there is no clear opposite), remove your own predisposed thoughts about their stand-point. and try to figure out their position using logic and reason. Try to rationalize their viewpoint on your own,then check online sites devoted to them, check to see if your rationalization, and the oppositions rationale are similar. If they're not similar,try to make sense of their rationale. It may not make sense to you, but realize that to some it makes more sense than anything else. If they are similar, then congratulations, you're ahead of the curve. 

3. Ponder the most meaningful relationships in your life, think about how they react to you when you're around and what they say to you in your most meaningful of conversations. Do they say things to you about you that you don't necessarily believe? If so try to figure out what it is that makes them think that of you. Whether what they say is positive or negative is a moot point, it's really supposed to enlighten you to the fact that sometimes the idea of you (the "you" you want others to see), and the person you are at heart aren't always  in tune. People are more perceptive than you might think, they can pick right through to the real you if you spend enough time with them. True colors shine through, i believe the saying goes.

4. Contemplate all of these until you feel you understand why the people with opposite viewpoints hold those viewpoints, and  your reaction to these peoples ideas are not volatile. 

5. Now think back to all those reasons you don't believe the opposite of your viewpoint. Decide whether or not they are reasonable reasons to discredit the opposition.

6. Now make a decision, and remember this frame of mind for all of you're future thoughts and decisions.

Thinking rationally is something we, as humans, should pride ourselves in. Making decisions for yourself can be at times, more difficult than one might believe it to be. What is conscious life without thoughts being put into action? Shouldn't the most critical aspect of life, the very aspect that separates man from beast, be treated with deliberation instead of haste? I believe very strongly that a world full of open minded individuals, looking out for one another, could make the world a less hostile place to live in. In a time where it seems like the only thing that gets accomplished in politics is the endless arguments over the same, non-issue, hot button topics, I think we could really use a surplus of free-thinkers.

...Or maybe that's just asking too much. Just remember, it's socially acceptable to believe exactly what your raised to believe, but it's not a mandatory practice. 

Author's Note

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated, this is my first entry on here and would love to hear what you guys think. I understand this is kind of a bland topic but this is what's been on my mind recently and i wanted to do this in a stream-of-consciousness-esque style. I Know its not a story, per se, but i am not interested in writing a book on the topic at the moment.

Thanks in advance,
Jay

Reviews

[rjrodriguez]

"it's socially acceptable to believe exactly what your raised to believe, but it's not a mandatory practice."
I agree with this. We have minds so we need to use it to think. Don't follow certain things because it is done by most of the society, follow it if, and only if you think it is right. Great job!