There's certain assumptions about freedom and choice imbedded in the culture but I've been listening to a TED talk by a guy called Barry Schwartz who suggests that there is a paradox in choice, increasing it, increasing freedom, does not actually maximise happiness and welfare, what do you think?
Is there a law of diminishing returns in effect here that up to a certain point increasing choice and increasing freedom provide happiness but after a point it is just increased choice and freedom and nothing other than that.
How do you define freedom?
how do you define choice?
How do you define happiness and welfare?
In my experience, i have noticed that there are some people that find too much 'freedom' and 'choice' threatening, for a number of reasons:
feeling overwhelmed with options and possibilies, feeling indecisive, feeling stagnant, getting consumed in comparing themselves with others, getting caught up in the past or the future, lack of appreciation for what they currently are, and have, afraid to make a mistake, trying to control uncontrollable situations and other people, unable to think critically, distrust of imagination and creativity, unable to form a clear vision or goal, unable to take steps towards any articulated goals and vision, feeling lost and uncertain in a world they consider too big, uncertain, confusing, and perhaps, hostile.
I think pretty much all these reasons for fearing freedom and choice are based on a feeling of lack of empowerment. Which can further be reduced to feeling a lack of trust for oneself. If one cannot trust oneself, one cannot trust his/her percpetion, experience, reality, environment, other people, and the world itself. And this lack of basic trust in the self and life is based on having a lack of self worth- Love.
These feelings of fear and lack, unworthiness and distrust, are not the result of having too much freedom and choice, but being caught up in lack despite being surrounded by abundance.
Generally speaking, i think freedom and choice is more about individual perception, experience, and beliefs about reality, than they are about external situations, authorities, legislation, culture and society.
But clearly, and very fundamentally, culture and politics creates the framework and the matrix for individual experience. The majority of our political and cultural structures are hardly fostering freedom and choice, although some, very cleverly, can provide the illusion of freedom and choice while simulatenously trapping you in a self contructed prison, exactly where you can serve their fear and lack based vision the best.
Personally, i am an anarchist. The only law i believe in is Love. This is because Love is the only true Law of Life, that which births, facilitates, and nourishes life. Love is more than the law, Love Is. Other than that, there are no rules or laws or limits that i belive in. I believe that this is the one and only, the perfect and ideal condition for happy, fruitful, fullfilling, creative, and meaningful life here on Earth.
All manners of other laws- (political, cultural, societal, religious, personal) are meaningless without cultural and individual acceptance. Sometimes laws can create and foster cultural change. Some laws can coerce acceptance and change temporarilly. I accept and appreciate that. But i believe that true change occurs internally, then this is reflected externally. True change comes from raising one's consciosuness; becoming aware of what consicousness is, who and what you are, what people are, what life is, what reality is, and what this universe is. When people know who they are...holy fuck....life is exciting. All these feelings of smallness, worthlessness, confusion, lack, and fear......disempowerment...they begin to disappear.
What you are is infinite, indestructible, enduring, creative, and powerful.....You cannot be contained, not by your body, not by your language, not by ridiculous rules made by culture and society. Fuck all that!
But we have the glorious, magical, and miraculously natural ability to use our bodies, language, culture, and society to congruently and vividly create, express, and enjoy the reality of our being.
Freedom and choice comes from knowing truly who and what you are. Empowerment comes from trusting your self.
There is no such thing as too much freedom and choice. Freedom and choice is essential for creativity and life. We cannot restrict the infinite, except by creating a lot of pain, confusion, and dissonance. Empowerment is our natural state. Feeling disempowered leads to acts of destruction and death. There is not much worse in this reality than feeling fearful, in lack, powerless, restricted, and helpless- this creates psychopathic individuals, cultures, societies, governments and worlds. Fear and lack breed death.
When we know, accept, and affirm the truth and integrity of our being, we feel empowered and free. Freedom and empowerment are intimately related. And all of this comes back to Love.
Love is our natural state, it is what created us, and that which allows us to create and experience life itself. The nature of Love is unconditional, infinite, all encompassing, whole, always expanding...Love is stillness and flow simultaneously. When we open ourselves to Love, it is a feeling of absolute Acceptance and Affirmation, Trust, Joy, Grace, Freedom, Power, Faith, Creativity, Connection, Infinity, Expansion, Stillness, Flow, Knowing, Being, Absolute Wholeness, and Oneness. Love is all these qualities, in truth, we cannot have any of these qualities without the others. They are. Love is w-Holy. Love is the most incredibly exciting and natural state that can be experienced and it is the truth of our being and of life.
Love is All That Is, Love is all we need. Love is the reason and answer for every question
