The more you want freedom, the less you can stop
── To you, who might call the reason you keep running
freedom "I want to be free."
The people who say that are, for some reason, the ones running the hardest.
They pack their schedules by the minute,
juggling multiple roles and multitasking,
always thinking one, two, or three moves ahead,
like a professional mahjong player or a shogi master.
They cannot stop.
And they do not stop.
Time spent doing nothing makes them restless.
Even when sitting still, their hearts find no rest.
But is that really
a "state of seeking freedom"?
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Freedom is not
having many choices.
It is not about being able to go anywhere at any time,
or being able to do anything.
It is about not breaking even when you stop.
It is about being able to stay calm even when doing nothing.
That is what lies at the root of freedom.
⸻
People who cannot stop
feel like they will lose "something" if they do.
Evaluation.
Roles.
A place to belong.
Momentum.
Energy.
That is why they run like a workhorse.
They say "I want freedom" while running.
But,
as long as you keep running,
freedom is always just a little bit "ahead."
Like a carrot dangling in front of your nose.
⸻
You can see it clearly when you look at the body.
The more a body cannot rest,
the more restricted its movements become.
Its range of motion narrows,
breathing becomes shallow,
and the choices of movement decrease.
As thoughts become rigid
and the same patterns are repeated,
the flexibility of the brain itself is lost.
That is why, the more cornered you are,
the more you can only make the same choices.
Being unable to stop
is the exact opposite of freedom.
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True freedom
comes after you allow yourself to stop.
When you realize that your value does not disappear
even if you do not move.
When you feel that it is okay for you to exist there
even if you do nothing.
Freedom
does not reside at the end of a long run,
but in the place where you can stand still.
Only then
do choices begin to emerge from within you.
⸻
Feel free to check this out as well