"Freedom's Just Another Word For..."

"I hope for nothing.
I fear nothing.
I am free."

-- Nikos Kazantzakis


I sure wish that I could say "me, too," to Kazantzakis' three line declaration of freedom. But, Jesus, I hope for stuff all the time. And I'm scared shitless on a regular basis that something will happen that I don't want to have happen, or that something I desire (i.e hope for) won't happen. And to the extent that I let hope and fear dominate me, I am not free.

And, so what can I do? Simply observe. By adopting the stance of the Witness and merely watching desire and fear unfold, I am not fueling either. And while I observe that they color my consciousness on a regular basis, I also observe that if I don't give them too much energy, either by indulging them or fighting them, both desire and fear soon fade.

Sure, they're going to be replaced by other desires and other fears, but the gap of clarity between the replacements grows according to the amount of attention I give it. By paying attention to the clarity between, I nourish it, and, at times, I'm even absorbed by it. As one ubiquitous clothing chain used to say, I "fall into the gap."

And that's a good thing. Because I look around the gap, and lo and behold, their is Nikos Kazantzakis and Kris Kristofferson, and Janis Joplin, and even Bobbie Mc.Gee! We're all free -- free of hope, free of fear. Nothing to gain, nothing to lose. Sweet freedom grows moment to moment.

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