We now live challenging times. It’s the 8th of April 2020 and a third of the world’s population is under lock-down, due to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

In a time when freedom seems to be a luxury, what would you say if I told you I feel free?

I strongly believe that freedom is a matter of mindset. We keep talking about freedom of speech, freedom to choose a belief system, a political party, freedom to do what you like when you wish … we keep talking about freedom in connection to the outside world.

How about our inner freedom? Did you ever wonder how free we are in our thoughts? Did you ever find yourself hiding things which nobody would ever see? So thus hiding from …yourself?

We now easily blame coronavirus for locking us in our homes, when in fact we are prisoners in our train of thoughts, of our own conditioning, just like the story of the elephant rope:

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

The Elephant Rope

I believe that no matter how much outside freedom you have, you will never truly feel free in a box made of fears, limiting beliefs, shame, blame and projections.

Think outside the box is an expression that was used so much, until it lost its meaning. In fact, it encourages us to think freely, to get out from our patterns and see the world with curiosity, instead of judgement.

All the freedoms mentioned are given by someone/something – be it the government, the boss, your salary etc. But the most important freedom of all is the freedom you give yourself first of all in front of the mirror.

True freedom, inner freedom, cannot be given and taken away. It is a state of being, it is within ourselves, it is a mindset.

This being said, under lockdown, I do feel free. Do you?

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. – Viktor Frankl