July 23, 2023-
To Have Free Will
What does it mean to have free will? Where do I begin? It has been twisted in this age to make us think that it means that we can do anything that we want, good, bad, or indifferent, and not worry about the consequences. But that is a story that has been spread by people who want to scare you away from exercising your free will, and instead do the will of someone else. This is a method of control through guilt and fear, and it is utter nonsense, because the truth about having free will is that it means you personally take ultimate responsibility for all of your choices, even the on es you allow someone else to make for you! All of your choices, all through your life, (and beyond!), and all of their consequences, rest upon you, because that is how you expressed your will! Being fearful of the consequences of our choices can leave us immobilized, or stuck, indecisive and unable to choose. But life doesn’t stop happening, life continues all around us, and through us, whether wee choose to engage with it or not. Choosing to stop engaging simply means that we stop being in charge of our own decisions, and we move through life in an unconscious state. The true exercise of free will can only begin when we accept that life is messy and dirty, and we can’t move through life without having an impact on other living beings. Our simple presence has an impact which cannot be denied. We cannot be invisible, even if we try not to leave any marks behind, because, as I said a moment ago, not choosing doesn’t equal not living, it simply means that you are not consciously in charge of your choices, and this often means having a messier and less comfortable time for you, and for everyone else in your life, as you come crashing through in you uncontrolled state. This has the same feel as riding on a boat that is sent down a river without a paddle or a rudder, and since there is no way to steer or direct this boat, you have no way to keep it from crashing into things, and you also have no way to guide it to your desired destination. This is free will at its worst-case scenario, because it is present, it is operating, and choices are being made, consequences getting racked up, but there is no consciousness behind it which has taken responsibility for the overall journey. There is no one observing the choices made and their outcome, which is the true basis of learning and growing as we move through life. Mistakes are made, but they are not recognized or acknowledged, and so the wisdom within them cannot be integrated and utilized for making better choices later. Life, from this perspective, is lived, but barely experienced.
Terry Tischmak C July 23, 2023
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