Freedom is a daily practice

I often speak and write about freedom. It’s a core value of mine, an ongoing aspiration, and, above all, what I strive to embody every day.

But what is freedom, really?

A person very dear to me asked me that. And I thought it was a good opportunity to reflect on it again. Because values evolve. So, even if I wrote about it plenty in the past, I found myself driving through the countryside the other morning, pondering about freedom again.

What is freedom for me today?

We often treat freedom as a static inventory of options: the more choices on the menu, the freer we are. But in my experience, freedom isn’t an accumulation of options. It’s an active state of perception. It’s the feeling—the sense—that we are able to choose.

There’s a crucial distinction here between scope and sight.

External conditions define the width of our space to choose. But our inner state determines our ability to see that space and act within it. On paper, someone can have unlimited options and still feel completely trapped. Conversely, even when external circumstances severely restrict our scope, someone who sees even a narrow gap can still feel free.

Viktor Frankl wrote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”

That space is always there. But agency requires awareness before it ever requires action. If you can’t see the space, you aren’t free, no matter how wide the room is.

That is why freedom isn’t a trophy we win and hold onto. It’s a dynamic, daily practice.

A practice of attention; to clear the windshield and see the space. And a practice of responsibility; because only by taking ownership of our choices do we keep that space open, and perhaps even expand it.