Why is freedom so coveted and yet so feared? Is it because true freedom falls outside the neat little boxes we’ve created for ourselves called “comfort,” “safety,” “responsibility,” “lack,” and “societal expectations?” Because we live in a world that values normalcy and fitting in, above the individual need and desire to spread our wings and fly into unknown territory? Or even to be happy and fulfilled in an unconventional way?
How often do we see people leading extraordinarily different lives on our media outlets? We most often see normal, not free. We see that for so long and we start to think freedom is weird. Only reckless, egotistical, selfish people can be free. The rest of us need – no, are expected—to cling to the safety and security of our normal lives, lives that fit into the neat confines of what normal people do. We follow the rules, make our living, raise our families, and grow old with just as much love as the free people. Yet we have a sadness, a longing, that never really goes away. We rarely admit it, be we covet those free people. We think they’re reckless and selfish, sure. Yet deep down, we wish we could be reckless and selfish too.
What if we took a risk and ventured out of normal? What would happen if we got a taste of freedom? Would we lose all control? Would we tear down our normal, safe lives and never look back? Would we – gasp—feel a joy and a piece of us we’ve never known?
WHAT IF?