I’ve got freedom on the brain right now, because of pesach starting tonight.
It’s an odd, crazy, wonderful holiday. We burn things and fold things and hide things and scrub things. And dip them.
But mostly there’s a lot of thinking about freedom, which is what I’m doing now.
Today I’m listing freedoms. Like when we went and called things by their names to stop falling apart. Or made up new names for the moon of each month.
This time we’re naming freedom.
Freedom I appreciate.
The freedom to find my own way.
To invent my own job.
To go skipping down the street.
To talk to ducks and walls and puppets without being locked up.
To write without (external) censorship.
To say I choose instead of I have to, as a way of taking responsibility for everything on my dammit list.
Freedom that scares me.
The freedom to want what I want.
And to act on it.
To speak truth.
To insist on taking care of myself.
Freedom I’m pretty good at.
The freedom to interact with what is below the surface.
To examine the unexamined by questioning what is true and what is also true.
To let various parts of me have a say.
To say I am here.
Freedom I both crave and envy because I’m so not there yet.
The freedom (sovereignty!) that comes from not caring what other people think or how they will react.
To wear fishnets and rollerskates.
To keep the faith when things are tough.
To know that I do not ever have to explain what I do.
Freedom I wish for
The freedom to hide and to not hide. Whichever one is necessary. Maybe even both at the same time.
To unapologetically state what I need.
To release myself of obligations that are no longer relevant.
To create space for myself.
To recognize that these freedoms are already mine.
Freedom I wish for all of us.
The freedom to be at home wherever you are.
The freedom that comes from love.
To stand for things. Without fear and without pain.
To see the other side, and the other other side, and the one after that.
To inhabit your superpowers, knowing that they don’t diminish anyone else’s.
To be able to flail around and gleefully mess up, like we do in Shiva Nata, as a regular practice. With everything.
To learn from what maybe didn’t work, without judgment. To celebrate what did work, with wonder and delight.
That’s what I’m thinking about freedom.
I’m also thinking about my teacher Andrey Lappa in Ukraine, and my friend and colleague Dr. Max Becker in Berlin — both of whom began practicing yoga behind the iron curtain.
Back then this was dangerous, and yoga had to be done in secret. Hiding books under the floorboards. Asanas in the woods. Not able to share it with anyone. Imagine.
I’m thinking about how fortunate I am to have the freedom of living in a place and time where I don’t need to hide my experience.
There may be monsters or other internal blocks to interact with around this, but the choice is still mine.
I stretch into freedom. I inhale and exhale freedom. I plant gwishes and seeds. And I write about it. Incredible.
And comment zen for today.
Remember when we threw stuff in the pot?
I thought it could be fun to take all the different freedoms that we want or appreciate and throw them into the pot. You can do it quietly in your head and heart. Or here in the comments. Freedom!
Shout it from the rooftops or whisper it to the trees, or do it here with us. It all counts.
As always, we let people have their own experience, which is why we don’t give unsolicited advice. Love to all the commenter mice, the Beloved Lurkers and everyone who reads.
Happy kneidelach-eating and chag sameach to anyone who celebrates.
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beautiful! thank you for sharing this!
Freedom!
–to rest when I’m tired, eat when I’m hungry, drink when I’m thirsty
–to hold and be held
–to write things by hand, in my own unique handwriting
–to change my mind
–to take time off whenever I need it
–to arrange my personal spaces any way I choose
–to sing and play every day
Some of these are freedoms I long for. Some of these are freedoms I already possess. I don’t always know which are which. Into the pot!
Freedom…
To not fill in the blank.
To know what I want and then ask for it.
To have my own system of organization, even if it means writing on the walls.
To have a disco ball in my office.
To let the phone go to voicemail.
To take up the eraser and rewrite the rules.
Havi, thank you for this. Sometimes I feel very unfree. It is good to be reminded of the many kinds of freedom I have.
The freedom to try again tomorrow.
~~~~~~freedom!~~~~~~~
said with jazz hands.
All the freedoms of a woman in the UK right now – sometimes I think about this and wonder how I got to be so lucky.
The freedom to have bright red hair, if I so wish. Which I do. Yay.
The freedom to have a kooky diet.
The freedom to be able to go and paddle in the sea.
The freedom to leave. Or to stay. And for it to be my choice.
A freedom gwish:
The freedom to let go…or the freedom of letting go.
+ The freedom to grieve as long as I need to, and to process guilty feelings as long as I want, to learn rather than to beat myself up.
+ The freedom to work slowly, and to reduce multitasking to a minimum.
+ The freedom to get dirty in my yard and garden, and to run errands at the hardware store in garden clothes and muddy boots.
+ The freedom to buy five books on the same subject instead of just one, to read all the juicy goodness in each, and then to give them away. The freedom to walk three blocks to the library and read some more.
+ The freedom to read this blog, and all the commenter mice, and to wish you all (including the lurkers) all the freedoms you wish!
I’m appreciating that I have the freedom to decide when or if I’ll go to Bolivia, and how many times.
And the freedom to walk around barefoot whenever I want to.
Also the freedom of being a grown-up and being able to eat chocolate any time I feel like it, not explanation required.
Yay, freedom!
I discovered my superpower today. And now I can inhabit it. Freedom!! Thank you.
And, chag sameach.
The freedom to acknowledge everyone’s right to self determination, personal agency and radical responsibility.
With blessings to every person who is suffering under the bondages of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, illness and pain, threat and fear.
May we all be ever free to dream and create a better world.
The freedom not to know what I want, sometimes.
The freedom to do things at my own pace.
The freedom to choose my people.
The freedom to read this blog first thing in the morning while sipping coffee from my favourite mug.
The freedom to go to bed early.
The freedom to look after myself.
The freedom that comes with living in a country with a good quality of life, mostly not too polluted cities and drinkable water running from all taps.
Into the Pot:
The freedom to grow and to change and to become.
The freedom to rest and relax.
The freedom to write and say what I think and feel.
The freedom to love what I love and to pursue my heart’s desires.
The freedom to get back up again when I fall down.
The freedom to say no, never again.
The freedom to see what I see.
The freedom to walk through opening doors of learning.
The freedom of grace and coming back to myself, over and over again.
And gratitude to simply be free.
The freedom’s I have:
To change jobs
To live wherever I want
To sing and make up songs and dance to them
To create my new job
To write, say whatever I feel or think
To make my own decisions
Freedom’s I envy – cause I haven’t given myself permission yet:
To not care what anyone thinks
To state clearly what I am, need, feel, with kindness & clarity
To wear odd combinations of clothing (including hats) in public
To offer my “thing” with full commitment
I’m so happy you wrote a pesach post (I was hoping you would) It’s my favorite holiday for so many reasons (because there are so many nuances to the holiday). So in addition to celebrating Freedom(!) I also acknowledge the freedom to revel in rituals. In the seder last night (the first one I’ve ever had with just friends) I was explaining to those unfamiliar why it’s called a seder and what the order is and Why Rituals are Important! And yes I was sending you a chag sameach last night as I was explaining this. To me, part of pesach is almost like Thanksgiving because we are grateful that we are free. And I am also thankful for your consistently timely thoughts and ideas. Todah rabah 🙂 and Chag Sameach, Havi!
Freedom to lay in bed, for as long as I need to.
Freedom that comes from knowing you’re accepted and loved, no matter what.
Freedom dress as I please.
Freedom to dye my hair ridiculous colors, without worrying that I don’t fit in at the office (or anywhere).
Freedom from judgement. Others judging me, me judging others, my judgements of myself.
Freedom to care what people think, because I do, but still be Me anyway, regardless.
Freedom to sing along with the radio, at the top of my lungs, irrespective of whether I’m in key!
I can’t read anything on freedom without thinking of my ancestors, sisters – we have local elections and a referendum on changing the voting system in the UK in a couple of weeks. I’m a woman, I have a vote. It blows my mind that someone fought so that I can do that.
Good timing, Havi. I really needed to think about this myself right about now. Thank you, as always, for writing.
The freedom to take three days to read this article.
I usually rush when deadlines are approaching – either leave tabs open for weeks before I give up and close them or skim-read. It’s take three days but I’ve got to the end ^_^
A very good post to keep reminding myself of the Freedoms I have around my work.