Freedom as a Concept

Freedom...

A ‘’blessing’’ that has been written about for centuries, sung in poems and songs, and perhaps, most tragically, fought wars over.

Well, what is actually freedom? Is it running along a beautiful river? Is it looking at the blue sky? Or is it being able to share the same sky with other people we love? Or is it something quieter, like chasing a silence? Perhaps, in its purest sense, it may not lie in landscapes or skies, but rather in the refusal to submit to the restrictions, to the wars and the tears. Trying to do the best possible things for a more livable life may also be called freedom for some. The definition of it can differ according to personal experiences, as a person is only as free as what they have experienced. Moreover, what one calls liberty, another may call resistance. Or maybe freedom is not a place we arrive at, but a fire we carry within; within the heart of a bird in a cage, or the soul of a woman.   

For many women in society, including myself, both standing up against oppression and raising our voices against injustices are the most likely ways to say, "We are also here." So many times, to be a woman in many societies is to be born with chains or stereotypes. That is why, as a woman, every act of resistance and every word spoken against injustice is an expression of a roar. Because silence, too, is a choice until it is no longer ours to make.

Unfortunately, for many women, life begins with invisible chains. They are taught how to sit, how to speak, and how to act from an early age. But why? To exist as a woman means to control the manners because we are women. In such societies, women’s fight cannot be personal. It should be universal because strength rises where unity lives. Shared values and common sense should be the key elements of freedom. Women should be able to break the rules and all chains if they find the power within their hearts to change the world for a better life. As freedom is not only a gift to women, but to all humanity in this universe, and all obstacles can be overcome by coming together.

Now, I want to attract your attention to the lines seen below, which I have explored thanks to Jack London, the author of Martin Eden, where London mentions William Ernest Henley as a master of a special poet with whom I fell in love.

''...I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul...

...Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed...

...I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul."

It may be a moment when you find yourself within these lines, or maybe not. However, the moment I saw these lines, I sensed as if they reflected my existence and warrior spirit. On the other hand, I felt a deep sense of gratitude to God who gifted me with a soul that refused to bow. Perhaps that is the reason I was sent to life. Perhaps I aim to fight, to resist every form of oppression and to prefer a life of dignity, no matter what. Is it possible to assume that to exist with grace is power and to rise with pain is freedom? Perhaps, because each one of us is shaped by different trials of fate, some burn with a desire for freedom, while others chase different passions.

After all, we are all human. We may not know how free we can be exactly, but we do know that we can exist without snuffing out another being’s will to live. We can live without breaking a heart, without caging a bird, and without becoming prisoners of a single thought. It should not be forgotten that true freedom is not the absence of pain, but the courage to keep loving despite the presence of struggle. And maybe, just maybe, that is where true freedom begins.

To dance to the melody of nature, to sing with the voice of a bird, and to rest in the shade of a tree could mean to be free. Freedom does not always roar; sometimes it hums in the wind, and sometimes it lights in the dark.

May you walk with faith, kindness and love.

With all my affection.  

Özlem