To be free…

When we undertake precepts or vows in any form of spirituality, we clearly need to see that they aren’t chains of bondage that constrain us. Rather they help us rediscover our very agency — which we often lose. We often long for freedom and sovereignty. But our sense of rebellious freedom is like sitting in a Mega Truck that’s racing at a high speed and we have no control over it. It often damages us and others. But if we suddenly discover how to steer the truck, we gain great strength as we can steer it towards betterment. We reclaim our sovereignty, and it can be a powerful source of energy.

Here in lies the seeming paradox: the path through the wilderness isn’t a constraint or limitation but the very way that enables movement and freedom. To be free, we ought to know how to be free and that “ought to know” is the path: path of vows, trainings and precepts. It is not an enemy of freedom but rather the very thing that makes the freedom possible in the first place.

#Reflection