Pondering the Meaning of Freedom
Fourth of July makes me think about freedom—what it means, what it promises, and how hard it is to achieve. 246 years after the passage of the Declaration of Independence, we are still far from realizing the ideals of liberty and equality it proudly articulated. Systemic racism remains firmly entrenched in our country, as evidenced by the staggering fact that the median white household wealth is 7.8 times more than the typical Black household. And women are still earning less than men—only 84% of the salaries of their male counterparts.
My father, Mendek Rubin, believed that the only way to make progress towards a liberated society is to first find it within ourselves. This includes figuring out how to free our minds from our conditioned beliefs about what makes certain people superior and others inferior. Much of his philosophy had to do with the nature of our brains, and how hard it is to break free from generations of being told how to think and behave.
Mendek wrote about how he learned duality at a very young age—right versus wrong, beautiful versus ugly—and from then on, he believed that he had to prove himself worthy of deserving love and happiness. This made the world feel like a threatening place. “When I was told to be ‘good,’ I was afraid of being ‘bad.’ Locked inside the prison of society’s expectations, my inner freedom all but disappeared. Slowly but surely, my birthright had been usurped.”
Liberation was the primary theme of my father’s healing journey, so today feels like a timely occasion to share two of his poems about freedom from Quest for Eternal Sunshine. Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, filled with moments of freedom and joy!
Myra
Freedom
My ideas and values have a life of their own.
Their existence have their roots in my conditioning and culture.
I cannot claim that they originated within me.
Yet I think I am free.
My emotions have a life of their own.
They swell up and recede, like tides of the sea, with a rhythm not of my own making.
Yet I think I am free.
My actions and reactions have a life of their own.
I’m often unaware of the “whys” of my own behavior, doing things unlike “me.”
Yet I call myself free.
My thoughts have a life of their own.
They follow each other, like night follows day, without acknowledging my authority.
Yet I call myself free.
Flying
While my body is restricted by the limits of the physical universe,
While my conditioned mind is restricted by the limits of time, space, and habits,
It is my privilege to reach for the clouds and, riding high,
It is up to me to overcome the limitations of matter and soar into freedom.
It is my privilege to fly.
