Do You Feel You Are Free?

It's probably been mentioned, but: "Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose." - Janis Joplin
I think that's tyranny, not freedom. Someone who thinks they have nothing left to lose may do
anything , any crime, any way of harming others, if they want to for some reason, or just because, no reason at all.
They've likely got no fear of the judgment they will get, no respect for any authority at all.
 

That has happened a few times and I find it somewhat upsetting because now I know that I can’t have an open and honest conversation with that person.

Precisely I've had the same thing happen to me when I felt I was talking in confidence to someone, so I'm very much more guarded now, and keep it all in my own home.. with family only..
People seem to think their conversations, test results, diagnosis and so forth is "private" with their care provider/doctor. Little do they realize the paper they signed title 'privacy or confidentiality of information' or something like that
is actually allowing the gov and all pawns of the gov to access all the infomation , not on a "need to know" basis, but
on a whim, for any "gov" or "medical" or other 'authority' gets access, but woe be to the family member or other non-gov-approved-entity who might need to know, but is forbidden "by law", such a broken law, broken ad lib, by medical and political and corporate entities with "official" permission because of the laws and signed forms.
 
Hi Holly - can you please explain what you mean by "Woke" and "Snowflake?" I do get the concept of BIG Brother, haha.
Woke... are the people who have taken over the world with their outrageous self sense of what's right and wrong.. it started off as folks against discrimination and prejudice, and has become anything at all that people take offence at.. vould be that your next door neighbour feels that you growing blue flowers is against his principles, and will report you to the housing committee.. and have you pull those flowers up..

Snowflakes are people who can't handle any kind of criticism, or expectation that they should do things for themselves and not expect others to do for them..

..but here's the offical explanation.. WOKE

The term ‘woke’ is at the centre of many of the fiercest political and cultural debates at the moment. Some people say being woke is a sign of awareness to social issues, others whip out the term as an insult.

Boris Johnson was asked if Joe Biden is “woke” following the inauguration of the new US president, with the Prime Minister acknowledging “there is nothing wrong with being woke” in his non-committal answer.

But what does the term really mean, and why do many people get fired up about its use?


Snowflake :
Snowflake" is a derogatory slang term for a person, implying that they have an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are overly-emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions. The term gained prominence in the 2010s.
 
Lots of doom and gloom in this thread!

It’s become a hackneyed phrase, but it’s a personal truth for me. Freedom is a state of mind. Making the choice to become untethered from the need to control outcomes has been expansive and liberating for me.

Everything outside of myself is beyond my control. The only person I can control is me, which means I am entirely responsible for my reaction/response to them.

When the news of the world starts getting me down, I simply unplug from it and stop reading and listening. I personally, by myself, can’t control the prevention of a nuclear war, another Covid outbreak, one political party or another gaining power, so I unplug because I don’t have the power to control any of those outcomes. Following those stories makes me unhappy so why would I do that to myself?

Freedom for me is found in letting go of my need to control, which is where many of my anxieties are seated. I only have control over myself and my reactions to external circumstances. I find freedom in going with the flow of the things I can’t control or just ignoring them. It’s breaking free from society’s expectations and living a life that is meaningful to me, no matter how it may appear to anyone else. It’s fully embracing the idea that what others think of me is none of my business, and no longer caring what they think.

Ignorance of things one chooses to ignore can, in fact, be blissful if it’s mindful, thoughtful ignorance. 😉
 
I know! I always assume when I have a conversation with someone, that it's inclusive, between the two of us.
Then other people come up and repeat the conversation. If I had wanted them to hear it, I would have told them.
Slightly disconcerting!
I'm very tight-lipped. If you tell me something is to be kept secret, I'll keep it between you and myself. The irony of this is, twice in my life when I was told to keep a secret and did, the secret-giver scolded me later saying something akin to: "I figured you would tell so-and-so! Really? You were counting on that? Go figure. /-;
 
Lots of doom and gloom in this thread!

It’s become a hackneyed phrase, but it’s a personal truth for me. Freedom is a state of mind. Making the choice to become untethered from the need to control outcomes has been expansive and liberating for me.

Everything outside of myself is beyond my control. The only person I can control is me, which means I am entirely responsible for my reaction/response to them.

When the news of the world starts getting me down, I simply unplug from it and stop reading and listening. I personally, by myself, can’t control the prevention of a nuclear war, another Covid outbreak, one political party or another gaining power, so I unplug because I don’t have the power to control any of those outcomes. Following those stories makes me unhappy so why would I do that to myself?

Freedom for me is found in letting go of my need to control, which is where many of my anxieties are seated. I only have control over myself and my reactions to external circumstances. I find freedom in going with the flow of the things I can’t control or just ignoring them. It’s breaking free from society’s expectations and living a life that is meaningful to me, no matter how it may appear to anyone else. It’s fully embracing the idea that what others think of me is none of my business, and no longer caring what they think.

Ignorance of things one chooses to ignore can, in fact, be blissful if it’s mindful, thoughtful ignorance. 😉
Wow - This is beautiful, Ronni! I read a book that said these things once, circa 1970's, but not as concisely. I'm going to copy and paste for a bit of self-therapy!
 
It's probably been mentioned, but: "Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose." - Janis Joplin
To give credit where it's due, Kris Kristofferson wrote those lyrics.

He explained the line about freedom with "The two-edged sword that freedom is. He was free when he left the girl, but it destroyed him. That's where the line 'Freedom's just another name for nothing left to lose' came from."
 
Oh yeah, I'm certainly free. I can walk down the street....I am free to get assaulted by gun or by people, I am free to get robbed, I am free to be spied on any time of the day on the internet, I am free to get gunned down by a lunatic at any time, I am free to watch the news that puts me in perpetual paranoia, I am free to keep fearing world wars coming at any second and there is just so much more!! This is all said with a hint of sarcasm which I'm famous for.
I don't look at it that way, @Ruthanne. My perspective: I'm free to pretty much do what I want, go where I want, and take certain risks if I so choose. No, I don't shop at 2 AM, but that's because it doesn't seem prudent, rather than because I'm prohibited from patronizing 24 hour stores during the wee small hours.

My life isn't curtailed in the way that many women's are: Afghani women come immediately to mind. Nor am I enslaved by extreme poverty's daily demands of procuring clean water, food and safe shelter. My body is still in good working order. I'm free to associate with whom I please - and to ignore those I don't care for. I can choose what to read or watch. I can travel.

As for gossips, they've always been among us. Since we evolved into humans, people have always run the risk that their words or deeds may come back to haunt them. For some, it's about bloody time they were held to account.

So yeah, I feel free.
 
Something that a lot of people don't realize (or want to realize) is that being old enough (especially if you don't have kids or kids willing/able to help you) can curtail your freedom. Some people--one of whom is my huzz--absolutely refuse to accept that things are different and therefore need to be handled differently now that we're old (not just older but old). So the answer to my pleas that let's consider this or that to deal with this, I get, "No, no, no! We're not there yet; well, I'm not anyway!" So, where I see a loss of freedom, he ain't seeing sh*t.
 
I am free and I use whatever words I choose to use. If you are offended by my choice of words, so be it. I recognize that using obscene language and some words/ comments that simply are not acceptable in today's world, is of course something that I will refrain from on this forum. But my censorship pretty much ends there....
 
Something that a lot of people don't realize (or want to realize) is that being old enough (especially if you don't have kids or kids willing/able to help you) can curtail your freedom. Some people--one of whom is my huzz--absolutely refuse to accept that things are different and therefore need to be handled differently now that we're old (not just older but old). So the answer to my pleas that let's consider this or that to deal with this, I get, "No, no, no! We're not there yet; well, I'm not anyway!" So, where I see a loss of freedom, he ain't seeing sh*t.

When one partner gets set in their ways in old age, lifestyle will change for both.
Sorry for that.
Not that those choices curtail freedom in general, but do limit changes when mental/physical health takes precedence.
 
I do remember a time in the twentieth century when we were more of one heart and one mind moving towards greater freedom for everyone. We weren't so easy to push around back then and I do dearly miss that time because we were so much closer to capturing something we'll never lay our hands on again.
In grade school and high school 'we' might all have thought similarly, not yet knowing nor even being aware of either the truth nor the "other side" , the things we learned shortly in or after college.
The appearance only, of greater freedom for a country or the people,
was manipulated totally to bring about the desired end or mid-time results we are living in now - as the noose gets tighter and tighter, the freedoms once thought to be ours now more greatly restricted of even forbidden by those in power AND by the laws they passed.
 
I feel manipulated by entities beyond my control, as most of us are, except the wealthiest who make their own choices.
The manipulation has been going on since Adam and Chavah (Eve), seen greatly increased in the last hundred years, very dramatically the last ten years and especially with the so-called man-made epidemics/ politics/ drugs/ financial empires in control.
are IMO a hint to the "New World Order"
Hint, hint, yes, of course. What they call it this year ? Total reset ? It has happened and is happening.
I believe, more and more that money, wealth and the powerful run everything. In fact, I just believe it.
Believing that as long as you stay quiet is okay.
Speak up much and if someone in power hears you they may take action against you to silence you or make you suffer. How's the phrase go ? "Anthing you say can and will be used against you...." even in a court of law....
 
I do, but some are in their own self imposed jail.
Exactly what those in power and control want everyone to believe - Look what freedom we have given you , they say, smiling nicely to our face while preparing the sword to stab us in the back.
Don't woorry though,
deception will stop one day.
 


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