Your Freedom Ends Where Mine Begins

Reviewed and approved by the psychologist Sergio De Dios González.

Written by Pedro González Núñez

Last update: 21 December, 2022

Freedom is the most precious treasure that human beings have. It is our responsibility to respect it, enjoy it, and prevent anyone from stealing it from us. We all have the right to keep it and take care of it.
So then, how dare you even think that you have the right to take even the slightest ounce of freedom from your neighbor?

If you enjoy your own, it can never be at the cost of your neighbor’s. Really think about it, because every time that you take something that is not yours, your dignity winds up a little bit more hurt.

The gift of freedom

The gift of freedom is a marvelous good that all people on this planet are born with.

However, the misuse of freedom by too many people requires that we have laws to protect it. Nevertheless, these laws often end up being violated by the same people who swore to defend them.

We must never confuse the gift of freedom with libertinism. A person who considers himself “free” does not have any right to stomp on another person in the name of the aforementioned “freedom.”

Therefore, the gift of liberty, given at birth to each and every one of us who comes to be on this planet, must not be understand in a trivial manner.

Respect  must constantly come above all else so that we might all live together, able to say that we are free. That is to say, freedom must not be understood as a lack of respect towards others.

“I am hurting you because I am free and I do what I want.” How often have you heard that phrase? Millions of people have used it to do whatever tickles their fancy, without knowing that, in reality, it is not freedom that they are exercising, but rather they are stealing of freedom from the person that they are hurting.

Freedom of thought

In reality, we live in a world of laws that leaves very few margins for man’s true freedom.

We have to be respectful of others, and in order to protect the weak from those who try to trample their rights, measures must be established that can prevent these acts.

However, freedom is not just found in the movement from here to there. There is much more to it that is found deep down in our heart and soul. We simply have to know how to look inside ourselves to stumble upon it.

Luckily, many of us have the freedom to think, love, dream, feel, create… Despite living in a society where you often feel like you are misunderstood, there is a lot that we can do within our own world.

Only when we focus on ourselves and engage in authentic self-discovery exercises can we discover true liberty and all of its meanings.

Within you, in your truth, in your way of being real, in your sincerity with yourself is where you are free in the strictest sense of the word.

Improper uses of the word “freedom”

Today, the word “freedom” is used in a very arbitrary way: “Freedom to decide,” “freedom to act,” “fight for your freedoms,” etc.

In fact, in many cases, voting or the election of a political leader does not include a true use of freedom, given that many of these matters are corrupt and decided ahead of time.

In reality, these are often exercises that are actually weakening your true freedom, given that they are providing you with various ways to be, think, or belong, but not your own real one.

Real freedom is inside of us. We exercise it through our sincerity and our commitment to being who we really are. And it does not matter what country you are from or what your identity card says, because those are legal structures that must not limit your true way of being. Those are restrictions.

So then, always remember that your freedom ends where mine begins. You can be yourself and enjoy your life, but you will never be able to tell me how I have to be, what group I have to belong to, or what I need to think.