Human Freedom

One of the gifts I most cherish is human freedom, and I imagine that is true of you too.

The heart of that freedom is the freedom to choose: to choose one's thoughts and beliefs, to choose one's attitudes and habits, to choose one's friends and possessions, where one lives and what one does.

While there are situations in which there are some external limits on the latter freedoms, even in dire circumstances, there is usually some freedom to choose, even if it is mostly how we will respond inwardly to our circumstances.

Today's reading taken from the Garden of Jewish Faith is from the famous ancient Jewish philosopher Philo.

Here is what he has to say about human freedom and the importance of making the right choices.

Human beings are distinguished from other living creatures by their capacity for reflective thought.

They can consider and at least partially understand the world around them.

Just as sight is the most important sense,

and just as light is the most important feature of the universe,

so the most important feature of a human being is the mind.

The mind is the eyes of the soul, illuminated by rays peculiar to itself.

These rays disperse the darkness of ignorance.

The mind was not formed out of the same elements as the body,

but was made from purer and finer elements--

the same elements from which the stars were fashioned.

The body can be destroyed, but the mind is indestructible.

Having created the mind, God judged it worthy of freedom.

God loosened the fetters of necessity, and allowed it to think and do whatever it wanted.

Other living creatures, who do not possess minds, are slaves of their own instincts and urges.

But through possession of a mind, human beings can be their own masters.

Thus God has given human beings the capacity to choose between good and evil,

between that which is noble and that which is base,

between virtue and vice,

in order that human beings might elevate themselves to godly status

by choosing goodness, nobility, and virtue.

My response:

It was a new thought to me that my mind was made of the same elements as the stars!

Of course, we now know, through what scientists tell us, that our bodies, like the earth, are too.

What do you think that may imply about us?

Philo's wisdom is that we have been given a great gift by God in the freedom to choose, and we need to use it worthily and well. I think of the times I hear people say (and have even thought myself) "I had no choice."

Is that really true? If so, why? Is not the choice always ours?

I know people who have scarcely realized that they have a choice what to believe or think.

They drift along on the river of life as if they were a leaf carried on the current of whatever thoughts, feelings, or beliefs happen to make up the flow of their minds at the time.

To me it is good news, if challenging, to accept the view that I do not have to just float along on whatever beliefs were taught me, other people's opinions, or whatever thoughts might pop up from who knows where inside me. I can choose what to believe, what to think, what to say, and what to do. It may take me a life time to use my freedom to the fullest extent, but it is such a worthwhile endeavor! And what better way to use my freedom than to choose in harmony with the highest ideals recommended by the world's Wisdom Traditions.