If you were to ask someone, "Would you want to have freedom or security?" Most people would face a dilemma on what to pick and may greedily say, "Both!"
The matter of the fact is that freedom and security are mutually exclusive. The need for security is like a chameleon and never fails to amuse us. It can appear in so many different facets. Sometimes it is our yearning of security from material gain, other times it is security from relationships, and of course there is also our physical health. Whatever it is, it all boils down to our survival instinct. The more secured we feel, the more we are assured of our survival. Yet there are always small clauses that come with having security, the fine print of which is overlooked by many. Firstly, you can never satisfy the desire for security, as there is nothing called "enough" for you to conclude and say that "I feel 100% secured and I don't need it anymore." In fact, this hungry beast is quite a handful, the bigger it gets, the more it wants to be fed. Secondly, security always comes with a price tag: freedom. This inverse relationship suggests that the more secured you feel, the less free you are. Why? When you are falsely believing that you are secured, you often lose sight of what is really present and become busy chasing after the next moment. This is to coax your mind into thinking that you have to continue to do the "right" things to get you well-covered so that you can sustain that feeling of security. Is this really what freedom is?
There is, in truth, no such thing as security. Uncertainty is the only thing we have as humans and you can never be sure of how things will turn out. The only thing that you can be sure is: It is always for your highest good, and the gem is the lesson you learn from every experience you have. The realisation of this and going with the flow is thus, true freedom.
If there is one advantage of getting older, it is that we gain more experience of dealing with life's ups and downs and become more conscious of what is really important in our lives. Over time, the desire to feel safe and secure becomes high on most people's agenda.
ReplyDeleteClearly, the price to be paid for absolute security is too high for most of us in terms of the associated sacrifice of our personal freedoms. But, as with most things in life, there is perhaps a compromise to be found that will allow us to enjoy some sense of security - which, after all, is one of the most fundamental human needs.
The key to finding that elusive balance is likely to rest in our ability to develop an environment of openness and transparency in any relationship, be it personal, professional or governmental. Easier said than done, as we all know.
Whilst we cannot have the best of both worlds, giving up some aspects of our personal freedom to do whatever we wish in order to attain some sense of security is likely to appeal to most people in this increasingly uncertain and unpredictable world.
Thanks so much for sharing your great thoughts! Very true -- though freedom and security are mutually exclusive, staying authentic and embracing one's vulnerability are equally important. One's wholeness cannot be sacrificed.
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