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How To Be Free: The Three Types of Freedom
Do you know the difference?
We all want a sense of freedom. The ability to do what we want, pursue our dreams and feel present to a life full of adventure and possibility.
But most of us have no idea what being really free actually means.
When I was a teenager being free meant doing what I wanted.
Freedom to stay out late, to date who I wanted to date, to keep my door closed, to drive faster than the speed limit, to skip the homework assignments I thought were stupid or that I just didn’t want to do.
For some people, freedom is just that. Not wearing a mask. Buying a fake vaccine card to get into a restaurant. Cheating on their partners and hitting on servers.
Sometimes their justifications are more complex but the desire to be free is the same. It seems juvenile because it is. It’s a juvenile idea of freedom dressed up in politics and business suits.
Most people who have developed some maturity and empathy see that this form of freedom is limited. The joy of doing what you want doesn’t last long and the pain you cause others isn’t worth it. But not all of us learn this.
When I got out of college and started paying my own way, freedom meant being able to live the kind of life…