Freedom is sweet indeed

I finished my doctoral program last week and finally joined the small band of people known as the philosophers; the first thought that came to my mind was "Freedom is sweet indeed". No wonder some people are ready to sacrifice everything, even their life, for a taste of freedom. Although I was supposed to be enjoying the student life all along for the past 5 years, I could not shake away an omnipresent feeling of restraint on my mind; and quiet strangely I had become used to it. I realized what I was missing only when I defended my thesis.

Over time people tend become indifferent to their curtailed freedom because of one of our primal survival instincts - adaptation. We all, as living beings, have mastered this art of adaptation and it is indeed a very useful trait to possess. Usually adaptation starts out as a response to an unsolvable problem in the environment but for some of us it ends up becoming a habit. Only a select few, the free thinkers among us will be restless, as restless as an eye with a mote wedged between the eye and the eyelid. These are the ones who will put their foot down and refuse to adapt beyond a reasonable point. They will bring out in action what all others were only dreaming or wishing. It will be up to those handful to realize, inspire and lead the rest of the mass. And those in the masses will need to take the critical step of catching the tide and breaking free. An alliance of a free thought and a mass of liberated minds can do wonders.

PS: Picture - courtesy MS Word clip art.