Freedom

Freedom. "Our freedom can be measured by the number of things we can walk away from," are the words of author and philosopher Vernon Howard. The summer after my first year to teach I moved back to my alma mater to begin working on my masters degree. It was an easy move. I was still living at home and owned relatively few possessions. It was a move I needed to make, and I had the freedom to do so. A few years later I had an opportunity to study in Colorado for the summer, however then I had signed a lease on an apartment, and had filled it with furniture and possessions. Needless to say, I stayed put. My freedom to just pull up and go was over. In life we spend a lot of time and money adding to our growing number of possessions. In the long run we end up not being able to walk away. We are obligated to our job, our debts, and the upkeep of our stuff. It's interesting that as you move deeper into life, all those things that seemed so important a decade or two ago, no longer hold the same appeal. Downsizing seems to be the name of the game. How free are you?