Navigating the Paradoxes of Freedom, Faith, and Independence in Your 20s

What is freedom? What is faith? What is being independent? Are they interlinked? Is there really a balance? Do we give up or sacrifice one to get another?

Let’s explore these questions from the perspective of a 20-something old.

Freedom of choice means making decisions for ourselves. What do we want to eat, when do we want to eat, what do we want to do in life? Away from the noise of, Is it right or wrong from a societal perspective? Freedom to be someone, an individual self. I is an exploration. Are my current choices informed by the world around me, or are they really mine? It’s a great journey to be on. There is no judgment; you can take your time. Prioritize your tasks according to your preference and decide for yourself. This comes with a complete package of consequences, of your own decisions, which you will subsequently meet.

To put into perspective:

• You sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am with a full night’s sleep, feeling happy and well-rested to start the day. On the contrary, you sleep at 4 am and wake up at 9:30, rush to work without eating anything, and get your cortisol worked up, making you more agitated for the day.
• You study hard, get into your dream university, or record great content, and post it on social media, gaining followers and subsequent work from it. On the contrary you do not like what you study and complete assignments a day prior to the submission date, you will receive the fruit of your labour. Do you think it is fair for someone to work for 15 days on a project to yield the same result as someone who took 15 hours. If, you leave negative comments on social media, making fun of genuine people and their hard work, and you will face backlash.

Every conscious decision has a conscious result. We often don’t understand the outcome, but it is always a consequence of our actions. The freedom we received allows us to make these conscious actions. Freedom itself isn’t inherently wrong; we fought wars and empires for generations to attain what we have today. It’s about being aware of the power we hold and how we use our privilege for what our ancestors fought for. This can range from the right to vote or to having a balanced meal as a university student.

That’s the paradox of freedom: it comes at a cost, such as being away from the systems in which we grew up, the systems that moulded us. Realize that some systems worked while others were outgrown. Understand that we have to unlearn certain systems and redefine what fits well with us today, cultivating new habits that serve the greater good. Some habits enforced upon us may have seemed tiring or boring but might bring the discipline we need in life to provide structure and create room for happiness.

In the quest of building more for ourselves today, are we losing our old systems, relationships, and little joys that come with spending time with loved ones, missing out on special occasions? Every act of choosing also means the conscious choice of not choosing the other option. This post is not to build a fear of outgrowing things that are not serving you anymore but to make you aware, rethink, reconsider, and fill you with gratitude for what you have today. You consciously decided to have this current reality by not choosing the other option. When you choose the red pill, it isn’t just about knowing what you gain from the red pill, but also analyzing and making peace with what you decide not to choose from the blue pill. This is an attempt to make you more present and aware of the free-flowing nature of paradox. This is a key principle of the universe: to always maintain balance.

Welcome to my series, where we discuss all aspects of life, big and small, and introspect into the paradoxical nature of life. In the next blogs, we shall discuss faith, independence, and the quest for balance.

Until then, thank you for your support; it means the world to me. Please share your thoughts in the comments, and if there is a specific topic you want to hear about, please let me know in the ‘topics you want to hear about’ section on the homepage.