Freedom or loneliness?

Today, this dichotomy weighed heavily on me and ended up inspiring my daily reflection.

Today marks the end of my short five-day mini-vacation. I went up north for a celebration, and I’m heading back today. Even though I really don’t feel like it, tomorrow and for the rest of the week I’ll be there for the morning shift. Which means I have to wake up at 5:40 a.m. But that’s not a bad thing at all, when I know I won’t be working. The connotation is indeed attached when we know the purpose of the “obligation.” But what is an obligation? It’s what determines that the time we have is traded in exchange for something we need but don’t have. In my case, it’s traded for a monthly salary that compensates me for having lost the freedom to do as I please during a certain period of the workweek.

This starting point led me to wonder: if, aside from having no one to wake me up, or to welcome me home when I return from work, or to tell me or ask me to use my free time, could this be considered a freedom gained, or, on the other hand, would it be forced solitude?

At what point do we only see one side of a situation? There’s always a flip side, the other side of the coin. There’s no situation that doesn’t have a downside, or a situation that seems to offer no benefits at all but doesn’t have a brighter side.

But I certainly have more than enough time to share. Often, I’m not quite sure what to do with it. Which ends up being a form of forced imprisonment. Inaction also leads to waste. We have what is most valuable, but we end up wasting it, either because we’re too caught up in a particular thing, or because we allow ourselves to be somehow hypnotized by daily—or even personal—routines that rob us of the ability to make better use of our time...

And this reflection made me realize that, despite feeling a bit tired, I would be wasting the time I still have today to do whatever I please. I’m going to get dressed and take the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air outside. To look at things through different “eyes.” To distract myself from the routines, rituals, and external patterns that lead me to value more the time I have to do whatever I want. At least for now.

^{Image by Peggychoucair from Pixabay
Original text written by @xrayman in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)}