Freedom To or Freedom From?

I wonder sometimes how well we understand what freedom actually is. In exploring this subject, one helpful distinction is to reflect on the phrases “freedom to” and “freedom from.” 

If this topic speaks to you, you may want to pause in reading this and take two minutes to write those two phrases at the top of a piece of paper. Then underneath them, write as many words as capture what you want in your work and life. To take the next step, mark the words or phrases in each column that are the most important to you right now.

Which column is longer? Which one is more meaningful to you? I would be grateful if you would share your thoughts and reflections in the comments below.

I recently read the letters that a wise man wrote in his old age to his sisters. In one of them, he writes:

The prerequisite for the experience of true freedom is not to have dominion over anyone and for no one else to have control over you. Every man inevitably forfeits his freedom as soon as any power over any one of his fellows manifests itself in him. The aspiration to dominate is itself the consequence of an inner enslavement. In enslavement there is no love.

He says that true freedom is freedom from dominion, control, and the expression of power—both that which we have over others, and that which others have over us. He asserts that we lose our freedom when this power gets expressed in us. Finally, he says that the desire to dominate and control comes from an inner enslavement. This is sobering when I consider the bitter irony that a desire for a “freedom to” can sometimes involve a desire for power or control.

Perhaps one can sum up that “freedom to” is often about our will, our wants or desires, and our power to effect them. “Freedom from,” on the other hand, seems to be more about our experience of life, more existential.

If you want to experience more freedom in your life, I welcome the opportunity to engage in a supportive, constructive conversation with you. I extend the same offer to those of you who may not be sure what to do with the freedom you have. After all, what we do with the freedom we enjoy can be greater than freedom itself.