I do not know why, but when I read your posts, especially ones like this one, I am reminded by the words of Albert Camus. Obviously, in some sense, freedom was also an issue for him, albeit a bit different. But your words remind me of the same feeling I had when I read (and still read) the Outsider and the Myth of Sisyphus. I cannot find it now, but there is a line in the latter that reads something like "humans find meaning in their routine" and that "the true absurd hero should fight this urge to find meaning in the mundane". And I think this post speaks to that, freedom is a choice, an inner decision.
Anyways, sorry for the long comment about something so strange! I hope it makes sense. Keep well.
Don't be sorry for your comment, I love to read what you associate with! I wouldn't have thought of Camus, and now I notice that I can barely remember his writings even though I used to be really into it , when I read him. (Maybe I'll dig the books back out...)
What I remember is that I read him in a time, where I was actually in this same City I am now, but desperately looking for that freedom which then I couldn't find. So in one way your comment is actually very relevant, kind of closing the circle. Thank you for that!
Oh wow, that is awesome really! What are the chances? In my home language we say “toevallig” or something like “casual or accidental” in English, but it sounds something like “toe val die lig daarop” or directly translated “the light was shining on it”. Meaning that something accidental or per chance opens up new meaning which is not so accidental or by chance. It kind of links with the African philosophical notion that “everything is a missing link in an interconnected world”. Long story short, that was an awesome revelation! Thanks for sharing it. I hope that you find that freedom and that you read Camus again.
That's beautiful, I just had to write it down!
(I love how expressions in different languages make you discover feelings/expressions you knew or sensed and then suddenly you have a specific word for it. Beautiful!)
Language is beautiful and so many hidden truths reside in it! A local language here, isiXhosa and isiZulu both, if I remember correctly, in their way of greeting, which translates to "hallo", but directly translates to "where are you standing", implying that to greet someone is to ask them where their family is, how they are related, and so on. It is very interesting stuff really!