On occasion, I have the good fortune of receiving random photo’s from one of my colleague’s at the University of Alberta.  I am pretty sure he does not read my daily posts but his pictures are sure helping with the ideas so I hope they keep coming.

On the weekend he was strolling by a lake and noticed this seaweed floating by.  What struck him was how it appeared totally free from restraint.

Can anyone be totally free?

This thought put me in a philosophical mood.    Is anyone free, can we ever be truly free?  Is even this seaweed blissfully floating on the lake without a care in the world, is it even free.  There are the constraints of gravity, the whims of movement are controlled by  external forces, wind,  water etc.

I guess to build the discussion we need to consider the meaning of the word.    My favorite description of freedom is ” exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc”

In that context is “total” freedom possible,  I wonder, and not to be morbid, but in the context of that definition for humans maybe freedom is only truly achieved in death.  Actually I think not, read on.

How about you are as free as you feel?

That being said though I am a true believer that we all control our own freedom.  We are accountable and in control, in fact no one and nothing can exert control over my mind, my thinking – they are mine.  I can be impacted by external actions (the wind and the water) and behaviors (other humans actions)  but how I react, that is mine and mine alone.

I started to form this philosophy more strongly after reading Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl in which he uses his experiences in a German concentration camp (in the 1940’s) as a basis to explore Man’s search for Meaning.

Usual Disclaimer and Wrap Up

Believing we are totally in control (i.e., free) is an excellent philosophy to hold, however, I would be dishonest if I did not say that even believing I am completely and solely in control of myself, reality does intrude (oh darn)!

Today’s post is something to think about and possibly to aspire to (your choice).  I would definitely postulate that owning your life and being personally accountable is better than not.