FREEDOM ... think again !
What is freedom ?
At first I thought , that ’ s a very narrow subject … but as I cogitated I began to appreciate the freedom that such a subject opens up . We can interpret it in any number of different ways ; all sorts of ‘ freedoms ’ pop into my mind .
People Slavery : not the kind that jumps to mind . I am thinking of other situations where one might yearn for freedom , along the lines of the wish for release from a tough or difficult relationship . Some of us get ourselves tied into marriages that are made in hell . I have a neighbor whose life is just so miserable because her husband drinks and beats her . Daisy is far too timid to ‘ opt out ’ not having enough confidence to face the world by herself . Imagine being tied to that sort of horror , dreading every evening , fearing the mood he might be in . Jim comes back from the pub at 10.30 pm , stumbling a little and finds a note “ Your supper is in the oven .” He picked a fight over the supper that is dried out and overcooked . He winds himself up into a rage which culminates in him giving her a punch on her jaw , and another one to her middle . Daisy came to my flat this morning holding her ribs . It ’ s none of my business . I know I should not intervene , but a broken rib and a broken jaw , not to mention a broken heart is more than I can bear . I took Daisy to the home for battered women , where she is safe for the time being . When Jim came home this evening he found a note on the kitchen table “ Your supper is in the dog !” written by me but not signed in case he came and gave me a punch too !
The Mind I have a cousin who has cared for her ailing mother for the last two years . Eli has always been a bubble of joy and has not ever complained about having her wings clipped because of her mother ’ s needs . Eli ’ s Mom has had a stroke , leaving her unable to speak , unable to walk without help . Imagine being that Mom ! Imagine being trapped in a body that does not work anymore ; where your words come out scrambled ; with a mind that knows what it wants to say , but can ’ t get the words out . You discover that you have forgotten how to read or write , you can ’ t even write down what you are struggling to say . This is what nightmares are made of . You watch your daughter endeavoring to understand what you want . You try and get your words into line , but you know they are getting encrypted on the way out . You watch as she gradually loses that bubbly nature , frustration getting the better of her .
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What sort of hell is this ? And you have no control and no idea how to win through . The hospitals are full ; the care homes have mostly closed their doors to anyone that has a relation at home who can look after them . When the day comes for that person to pass on to the next world , sadly it is just a great relief to both the one who is trapped and the one who has carried the load .
There surely is freedom at last .
Anyone reading this please make a note : I fully support euthanasia and if I land in this position , please arrange to release me into the next world as soon as possible .
Animals I hate to see animals caged ; I can ’ t stand zoos where the big cats pace up and down the perimeters of their enclosures . Even though the modern zoos have tried to enlarge the pieces of ground where these animals live , they are still restricted , living un-natural lives . You can see the boredom and misery in their expressions . It does not matter whether it is monkeys or mongooses , elephants or emus I find it cruel in the extreme . And as for birds in aviaries , especially raptors , I hate to see these magnificent examples of the aerial species confined to a few square meters of space . Watch them in the wild , see them soar , riding the thermals , covering miles in seconds ; then swooping on some unsuspecting mammal and carrying it off to the nest , high on a perpendicular cliff , to feed their hungry chicks . That is the law of the jungle ; that is freedom .
In nature there are many examples where freedom can be celebrated . Have you ever watched a chick hatching from an egg ? The chick has grown so large after consuming the yolk inside the egg , it needs to break out of there , so it pecks a hole in the shell , and gradually enlarges it until it can emerge , bedraggled and as ugly as sin , because newly hatched chicks have only scanty down covering their bodies . It only takes minutes to dry out and fluff up , and demand food from whichever parent is near enough to provide . And only weeks later , when feathers have replaced the down the parents will encourage it to jump off that ledge , flap its wings and fly ! That surely is freedom !
But the most wondrous hatching is watching a butterfly break out of a chrysalis . It emerges all scrunched up , pauses while its wings unfurl , then it gives them a shake while they dry and without a seconds thought it is up and away …. up into the wild blue yonder . What a miracle of nature – what freedom !
Carole Brisbane West