What exactly is āfreedomā?
Personally, I find it such an ambiguous term.
Is it the ability to do what we want, when we want?
Or the authority to choose what happens in our lives?
Perhaps itās the liberty of not being dependent on certain emotional, physical or cultural restrictions surrounding us?
Could it be the feeling of being uninhibited by the influences of other people around us?
I would guess most of us would likely say that we desire āfreedomā in our lives.
However, Iād be really interested to see what different people actually define as freedom.
Additionally, Iād also love to see what people would do with their own definition of freedom – if they actually got it.
Iām curious. Whatās your definition of freedom? Have you ever thought about it?
As Iām writing this story, Iām sitting at the AGP airport in Malaga, on the way home.
Iāve just spent the last 10 days here with my bestie.
One of my favourite people in the world.
She is one of the most loving, caring, generous and thoughtful people that I know.
I walked her towards her gate not 10 minutes ago.
As I watched her walking past the passport barrier I felt a warmth in my heart.
Itās been lovely having my bestie around. Despite having our ups and downs.
After dropping her off, I start walking back towards my own gate.
I wandered past a surf shop loudly blasting out KāNAANās āWavinā Flagā song ft. Will.I.Am and David Guetta.
āWhen I get older, I will be stronger, theyāll call me freedom, just like a wavinā flagā go the lyrics.
As I trundle by I feel my heart and spirits lift. I feel excited and āfreeā all of a sudden.
Why?
Because much as I love spending time with my bestie, there is something amazing about being in a place solo.
Having the world at your feet and the feeling of having a stream of destinations at your fingertips.
This is especially true in the current times of COVID-19.
āDonāt walk too close to peopleā.
āDonāt forget to wear a maskā.
āDonāt travel if you donāt have toā.
āDonāt meet in groups of more than 6ā.
āDonāt wash your hands for less than 20 secondsā.
āDonāt listen to the mediaā.
āDonāt touch anything without disinfecting it firstā.
Such a focus on restrictions.
It makes me think back to just over a year ago.
Back to the time I quit my job, moved to a new country and started a new life here in Spain.
I moved without a job, without a backup plan, but with a good amount of money saved up and a personal freedom plan:
– Move to Spain
– Learn Spanish
– Travel around Latin America
– Write a book
– Start a business
I managed to accomplish all of those items on the list except the last one.
Technically it was a time of (almost) unlimited freedom.
Yet thinking back on it, I donāt actually think I did feel āfreeā.
Instead, I actually felt confused.
Without the structure or pressure of a job, school, partner, media or internal compass telling me exactly which direction to head in, I felt a little lost.
Outsiders saw my time off as the ultimate escape from life.
I saw my newfound freedom as the beginning of re-discovering myself.
Magic.
Ā© RelocationJunkie 2020-10-03