Very interesting. The topic of 'freedom' is very important, especially in this time when it is both used to get rid of dictatorships and to establish dictatorships. Often I wonder why we take 'freedom' to be the main goal of our lives, can 'freedom' truly be a value in itself, or is it almost and 'empty' value? Freedom from what?
In your post, it seems you start out with this question about freedom, but then quickly go into what could be more important values: self-sufficiency for instance. Or creating meaning (in the case of your friend). Why then, do we think about 'freedom' in regard to being free from the strains of a capitalist society? Free from bosses that tell us what to do, instead of creating our own values? Wasn't capitalism established to provide freedom?
Anyway, I'm also not sure, but I find it at least interesting, but possibly also dangerous to consider freedom a goal, as it leads to relativism as well (something I shortly go into in this post). But maybe this is a topic that I should write and think about some more.
Thank you for your reflection.
I agree, there is no real thing as freedom and even what most consider self-sufficiency is much less than so. Here in this post, I am not getting into the philosophical views of freedom but the personal where I see it as the place to grow and learn from. For me, it is a place of work but what that work is and its purpose is somewhat different than where I largely am spending my time now. I think we can all do a lot better than what we know is 'largely meaningless'.