FREEDOM

Have you ever asked yourself
what personal freedom really means to you?

For a long time, my answer felt clear.
Freedom meant: being able to do what I want.
Not being tied down.
Not restricted.
Making my own decisions.

Freedom felt like: more.
More options.
More experiences.
More outside.

And at some point I began to sense:
Often this “more” isn’t freedom at all.
Sometimes it’s just another kind of restlessness.

From one party to the next.
From one trip to another.
From one success to the next victory.
Always moving forward.
As if freedom were always somewhere else.
Not now. Later. Bigger. More spectacular.

When “more” no longer feels free

And sometimes I ask myself:

Doesn’t life slip past us too quickly
when we spend so much time
in these in-between spaces
we give so little value to?

Between one weekend and the next.
Between one success and another.
Between what was
and what is supposed to come next.

While the present moment lies quietly beside us.
Unnoticed.

Maybe this silent need belongs here too:
to be seen.
To feel recognized.
To be accepted.

For a long time, freedom felt like this to me:
If others approve, then I’m okay.

The quiet form of freedom

Today, freedom feels quieter.

I no longer feel it in being able to do everything -
but in no longer having to.

Not chasing every impulse.
Not every glance.
Not every expectation.

And very concretely, freedom today often means:
saying no.

Not harshly.
Not out of defiance.
But as a quiet staying with myself.

Not saying yes just because it’s expected.
Not going along just to belong.
But pausing for a moment and sensing:
What truly feels right for me?

Sometimes a no is not rejection -
but protection.
A small piece of inner freedom.

Freedom in the present moment

For me, freedom often appears
in the unspectacular moments.

Being in the now.
Taking the moment as it is.

A morning coffee.
A calm breath.
A conversation without hurry.
A walk in nature.

That’s when I feel free.

Not searching for the next highlight.
Not waiting for the next applause.
But in the ability to be here.

Not always further -
but deeper.

Freedom is not only doing what I want.
Freedom is also
not being dependent
on the approval of others.

Freedom is
doing what is good for me.
Staying.
Feeling.
Not being driven.

Freedom sometimes doesn’t begin outside -
but in a quiet moment
where we start listening to ourselves again.

And when we arrive there,
it becomes calmer within us.
Lighter. Freer.

Same situation.
New perspective.

LUMA - it begins in you.

Mini practice for today
If someone asks something of you or invites you to something -
don’t answer right away.
Take one breath.
Pause for a moment and feel within.
Is your first feeling a genuine yes?
Or more of a quiet hesitation?
Allow yourself to decide from there.
Not from expectation -
but from inner clarity.

Reflection question
Where in your life are you still confusing freedom with “more” -
even though something inside you might be longing for “less”?