Freedom – it seems to be a kind of nirvana for all things good and great. Freedom – A place to enjoy life to the full, a place that everyone has a right to.
In Church, we sing songs of freedom.
In the Government, we claim to fight for our own freedom and the freedom of others.
Our children rebel against us in a quest from freedom.
At work, we want freedom from ‘the man’ – whoever he is.
If you are so inclined, like I am, you want financial freedom …
But what does Freedom mean?
Church – The Quest for Freedom
So every week we attend church or at least some people do and we sing about being free to be anything and anyone we want to be. Are we really though? Even in this supposed environment of love and acceptance, how many people are actually accepted for who they are?
Freedom is given only when you fit in to the status-quo of the church. You must fit in with the leadership and generally do what you are told or guided towards… Is that freedom? Someone deciding for you, the best way to go, the best way to act and when to act that way?
I have seen time and again, people trying hard to fit into the ‘freedom’ of the organization known as church and I went along with it for a while until I decided enough was enough and decided to opt out for a bit while I re-focused myself.
Government
So if you live in a developed country, you assume you are free.
You have democracy and obviously, this is the best system on the planet and so we must impose this brand of freedom on all the ‘not quite so developed’ people out there. It is the right thing to do, isn’t it?
So what if our system is failing in our own countries, we will now go and fight for others out there. Even if it means performing the same acts of atrocity they are perpetrating on us. How are we any different?
Everyone, in the political realm, has a different idea of freedom. Which way is correct?
Things like child labor and the treatment of women strike a chord with all of us but we all have different ideas about the best way to achieve freedom.
Is an imposed freedom still considered freedom?
Work
I was pretty irritated today at work when I realized
- I had to plan my holidays for the whole year in advance before April.
- I could not have any holiday in December
Aargh! I do not know when I am going to want to take holiday yet and frankly why can I not take some days off in December to be with my family?
Freedom! Where is my freedom? I ask you…
This is what happens when you work for ‘the man’. you are free as long as it fits in with ‘the man’s’ plans and rightly so, if you have chosen to hitch your wagon to another guy’s money making machine then you have to go with it.
Financial Freedom, this is not!
Financial Freedom
What is this? Now, it should mean that ultimately your expenses are covered by your passive income. However, what kind of income is completely passive? Completely!
I have not seen any. And anyway, even when I get to the point where I do not have to work anymore, I will probably still do something. Ultimately, I will not be passive and I will not be passively sitting on my passive income. I will be seeking to increase it, so it will never be completely passive.
I suppose the thing about ‘passive’ income is the peace of mind knowing that your wagon is not hitched to someone else. Definitely not a bad place to be especially in these days where pensions are failing so we really do not know where life will take us in our older years. In these days, where church can become a place of pleading with God to help you survive another day on the money you have. If you had your own money, or you learned how to create money, would you be so dependent on your pastor or the current whims of your church? You might be free to discover, really discover the plan for your own life.
When it comes to politics, with a lot of finance behind you, you might have more of a say in the policies put in place in the government, if you so choose. So financial freedom may help your voice be heard in this arena .
So when I talk about Financial Freedom, what do I mean?
I just want an income that I create doing something I do not mind doing and doing it somewhere I do not mind doing it. I want to serve others while doing something I enjoy and getting remunerated for it. I also want an income that keeps creating more of an income a long time after the initial effort.
Everyone can find something like this. You just have to put yourself out there and open your eyes and look for opportunity. Yes, it is hard but nothing good comes easy.
Freedom has been on my mind recently so I just poured out a few of my thoughts. Tell me yours…
What does freedom mean to you?
Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
