Freedom to be free

This blog is mainly for those of us here in India, though others are welcome to read along too - after all, mindsets travel faster these days. I usually try not to get too serious in my blogs, but today I may drift in that direction a little. 

 

Today is Independence Day. In the morning, I stepped out for the flag hoisting in our small housing colony. A senior member of the RWA spoke about remembering the past, celebrating the present, and taking care of the future - a neat little message for a morning gathering.

Looking back over the last few years, the celebrations seem to have changed a bit. There appears to be more emphasis now on nationalism than on patriotism. Patriotism, to me, is a fondness for a place, its people, its way of life, and the freedoms that hold it together. It leaves room for questions, welcomes criticism from within, and does not need to look down on anyone else. Nationalism, on the other hand, can sometimes become a little more stiff-collared - more about proving superiority, drawing lines, and deciding who belongs and who does not. As that mood shifts, even the symbols and style of celebration seem to shift with it. And yes, there is also a fair bit of past bashing: bashing the colonials, bashing earlier leaders, and generally finding fault with almost everyone except the people currently holding the microphone.

 

This morning, I did a small thought experiment about the colonials - the ones we sent home nearly 80 years ago. If I were one of them, what would I be thinking? Perhaps I would have left feeling that it was not I who had lost, but the nation I was leaving behind. A very convenient thought, of course.

 

Two mindsets might have been at work. The first: these natives are poor, struggling, and do not know enough; they need our help. We must save them from their difficulties. We are better; they are inferior. The second, usually left unsaid, could be this: they have so many resources, but they do not know what to do with them. We can take those resources and put them to better use -  and perhaps let a little good trickle back too. 

Freedom to do what they think right from their perspectives. (And we 'natives' - some at least submitted to this thinking too). 

 

Of course, I may be completely wrong in this thought experiment, and if I have ruffled any feathers, please consider them gently unruffled.

 

And then I suddenly realised something: we may have received freedom from the colonisers, but my mindset is still a little colonial. Let me explain.

 

The morning speaker, a senior friend in his late eighties, also spoke about three domains of life: our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with nature. He is an ecologist, so nature was bound to enter the speech sooner or later :). And I realised that in all three areas, a little colonial hangover may still be sitting quietly in my head. 

 

With myself, on most good days, I overflow with confidence. I am superior to others. I am good, better or even the best. (The little self righteous me.) On a bad day, I start questioning my identity, my calling, and occasionally even my basic decision-making skills. I often assume I am not quite okay. I feel I am far from what I should be. (The self bashing me)

In the shifting between colonial and false reality mind sets -  I forget that freedom of mind means recognising the uniqueness of who I am, created by God, and growing into the potential for which I was created - with the strength of the Creator. My leftover colonial mindset keeps whispering, especially when I fail, that I am not good enough.

 

With others, at times, I see people as those who may need my help. On other days, I see them as people who have things I might use too. I forget that others are also unique in themselves - different from me, but from the same nest, as our senior friend reminded us. If I listen enough, journey together, and walk hand in hand with diversity and plurality, they may have far more to teach me than I must teach them.

 

In truth, there is no “us versus them”. There is only a rather complicated, noisy, beautiful “we”. Our lives speak to one another through the love we share. A non-colonial mindset does not force everyone into one mould; it listens deeply, welcomes difference, and helps many voices move toward one shared purpose. True unity grows when plurality is honoured, and each person’s role becomes the quiet craft of weaving diverse stories into a common story.

 

Finally, with nature -  the birds, animals, the earth, and all the non-human life around us -  I forget that they are not background props in the great drama of human convenience. They are not here merely to be used, abused, and then thanked politely on Environment Day. 

A colonial mindset asks how much we can extract from nature. A freer mindset asks how we can live so that nature flourishes too. We are stewards, not owners with unlimited membership privileges. The animals, birds, trees, rivers, and soil share this earth with us, whether they have voices or not.

 

So perhaps the problem is not only with the colonisers or with past leaders, as we are often reminded by those currently in charge of reminders. The problem is also with my own mindset, which, more often than I would like to admit, still carries traces of a neo-colonial way of looking at myself, others, and creation.

 

So, what should I do - declare freedom for my mind on this 80^th (Nations – not mine) birthday? Perhaps yes. Freedom to receive God’s creative uniqueness in me, freedom to honour that same uniqueness in others, and freedom to live as a steward of nature rather than its bossy landlord.

 

As Good Book says, we are called to freedom, but not the kind that simply does whatever it wants; it is freedom that serves others in love. A free mind is not one that conquers, compares, or consumes, but one that loves, listens, and cares for what God has made. Not easy unless we remind ourselves that we are cared for by others and God too.