‘Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.' These are the words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his theory of the social contract. It means that freedom is not an obvious thing for a man. How then do you untie yourself from the chains of the world? It is by pursuing ‘happiness.' I have chosen to study the problem of pursuing happiness as a way to freedom because I believe that anyone who is happy is free. Happiness amounts to freedom because the person appreciates the life he is leading. I choose this topic to enable every reader to have his/her understanding that possibly, the many things we perceive to bring us freedom do not amount to what we may refer to as ‘freedom.' All we need is the pursuit of happiness, and eventually, we will achieve freedom.
Suppose you had a chance to live your life the way you want it; the way you have always wished, and with all the niceties and resources you have always longed for at your disposal, how would life be? How would everyone behave? Would there be order? Would the world be better than the way it is now? Would this amount to happiness? Supposedly, this is what many call ‘freedom.' One question that remains is, ‘how do we seek freedom?'
Mark Zuckerberg's speech at Harvard in May 2017 is an example of what freedom is. According to his statement, he dropped out. He doesn't regret it because he found his purpose in life. Zuckerberg reasons in his speech that goal is the sense that we are more significant than ourselves, that we have something better to pursue. When one has a purpose, he creates true happiness and eventually achieves his freedom. The pursuit of a goal for joy, according to Zuckerberg, doesn’t end with an individual, it goes beyond and involves creating a purpose for others too. What do we learn from Zuckerberg's story? Is he happy? Does he enjoy his freedom after truly realizing his goal in life? My answer is yes!
Everyone has a mission in life. Many people pursue the wrong missions because they fail to find their real purpose in life. In the end, they find themselves living lives in bondage and thus begin to complain of lack of freedom. If one can realize their mission in life and pursue, that would be the beginning of happiness and by extension the freedom we seek. Free people are happy people (Brooks).
From the documentary ‘Freedom: Are You a Freedom Seeker?’ Freedom is the right to do what you want. However, one must ensure that while he/she exercises his rights, he doesn't interfere with the right of others. It involves living without fear and living beyond your fears. Life is full of very many complexities that make us not realize ourselves when the real happiness comes. Thus, according to the documentary, everyone is responsible for their happiness, and therefore freedom. However, all these must start with establishing one’s purpose.
When you attain happiness and eventually consider it to be freedom, what do you do with it? As stated in the documentary, to be free involves having a clear vision, good health, food and drink, tools for money and time, friends, appropriate position, and a reasonably free country. When we have all these at our disposal, we obviously would be happy. What then would we do we that freedom? I tend to see that people rarely get contented and that is why we abuse the freedom we achieve. After attaining the natural needs, we begin to pursue material, social needs and later status needs as we move up the pyramid of liberty.
In my view, the road to happiness as a way to freedom is to follow the four agreements of liberty. One journey to personal freedom is for one to remain impeccable with his/her own words. Whenever we make utterances, we should aim at doing so with honesty and integrity. It is always good to say what you mean to avoid misunderstanding. Also, every word from our mouths should still come out in truth and love. Many people are never careful with the words they speak; the words we speak define our purpose and how we realize that purpose (Scott).
Secondly, we should learn not to take things personally when need personal freedom. Everyone is always responsible for their actions. Thus, whatever we say and do reflects our reality and our dreams and personality. Therefore, we should not pay attention to what others say and do so that we do not become victims of needless suffering. Zuckerberg remained proactive rather than reactive before he dropped out. For him, he had found his purpose and therefore he wasn't going to take things personally.
The journey to freedom doesn’t need one to make assumptions. We are encouraged to ask questions and express our true-self together with what we want. In our communication with others, we need to ensure that we remain precise, concise and to the point. Such an approach enables us to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. Following the third agreement to freedom completely transforms lives and leads to actual happiness and freedom.
When given a chance, always do your best. That’s the fourth agreement that would lead you to happiness and later freedom — your best changes with every situation that comes your way. For example, when you have health and wealth before you, your best will be different as opposed to when you are sick. Under any situation that prevails, it is always good to give our best. When we offer our best, we feel happy; we avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
In conclusion, the road to gaining freedom is knowing why we live. What is your mission in life? What purpose do you want to pursue? Once a person answers all these questions, the journey towards happiness begins, and later freedom. Many reasons that happiness is not enough to gain independence; that we need to pursue other natural, material, social, and status needs. I disagree because many have all that but are still not free. Happiness is the meaning of true freedom.
Work Cited
Brooks, Arthur C. "Free People Are Happy People." City Journal, 2018, https://www.city-journal.org/html/free-people-are-happy-people-13080.html. Accessed 18 Dec 2018.
"Mark Zuckerberg’S Speech as Written for Harvard’s Class Of 2017". Harvard Gazette, 2018, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/05/mark-zuckerbergs-speech-as-written-for-harvards-class-of-2017/. Accessed 18 Dec 2018.
Robinson, Wilf. Freedom - Are You A Freedom-Seeker?. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ufRwvnpGgI. Accessed 18 Dec 2018.
Scott, Elizabeth. "Pros and Cons of Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements." Very well Mind, 2018, https://www.verywellmind.com/the-four-agreements-by-don-miguel-ruiz-3144895. Accessed 18 Dec 2018.
