Absolute freedom

September 25th

Do I dare to even think about it? It feels wrong and illegal to even think about it. I mean — I am free to make my choices and to live my life according to my values and needs and wants. But I am still a way off from being truly free. And that goes to everybody else who thinks that he or she is free. You are not unless you dare to do this —

Spend a day, just a day, without a watch. Or any other device that tells time. So, no cell phone, no laptop, no GPS, no car stereo. Also, no going to any store or the office or being in public where a current time might be displayed. Wake up and get up without looking at the time. Have breakfast, or just a meal when you feel hungry. Go about your day doing whatever without knowing a starting time, and finish when the task is done without checking for any passage of time. Or finish when you feel tired or no longer interested in that task. Talk to somebody without checking your watch to make sure you are still on the schedule with daily interactions with other human beings. Go and play with kids or pets or nap or simply do nothing. No rushing or hurrying or speeding or running or doing several tasks at the same time. And then go to sleep when you feel your body tells you so.

A one day without being constantly aware of the time and its passage, arbitrarily measured by seconds and minutes and hours.

I cannot do this. Even for one day, the task simply seems impossible. But maybe, with the right planning, I can arrange for this to happen. That would, of course, mean spending time beforehand to plan all the details for a day like this. And that would defeat the purpose of the freedom I want to achieve if I still need to stick to a plan for the day — just not to know the exact time, but still be on the preplanned schedule. I just don't know if that is possible for anybody in any society in the world. Every single day, every single task during the day — for work or for pleasure — is done on and according to a schedule and set time. We ourselves put this constraint on us, simply because there is no other way to exist and be a part of society. But we can still dream, and I know I will be dreaming about a day, just a day when I will not know or be aware of the time.

And mirrors. Absolute freedom is also governed and achievable only where there are no mirrors as well — but that is a subject for some another day.