Free Man


"A man is as free as he makes himself, never an atom freer," answered the raven.
"You have no right to make me do things against my will!"
"When you have a will, you will find that no one can."
"You wrong me in the very essence of my individuality!" I persisted.
"If you were an individual I could not, therefore now I do not. You are but beginning to become an individual."
-- Lilith page 509 in The George MacDonald Treasury

This quote interests me. I kind of wonder exactly what MacDonald hoped readers would get out of this quote. However, what I got from it is more important at this moment. Personally, I think this means that we are only as free as our knowledge allows us to be. Individuality doesn't come until we've become who we are meant to be, and that requires knowledge. We always say that we are all free and that we have a will, but do we really? That is a very good question, of which the answer I don't know, but I think it should be pondered. Mr. Vane goes throughout this land, not thinking about where he is going, and he doesn't seem to want to listen to anyone who would know better either. Things turn out alright in the end, but some things could have been different if he'd just done as he was told in the first place. I think we all need to think about whether or not we are listening to our elders and those who would know better. That's always a good question.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beyond the Barrier [or] Brick Wall

By Claire Enos Past the hurtful words and the insincere remarks is someone hurting, deep inside. The hurtful words and insincere remarks just a barrier. A brick wall if you will, built to protect a broken heart, as it is repaired, painstakingly, over weeks, months, possibly years. And while the heart waits to be completely healed, by the loving touch of one who cares, it can only be taped up waiting for the repairman to show up and take charge. There are still cracks, but maybe-- just maybe-- the heart that has been broken can be repaired, with the hard work of the owner, and a lot of tape. Still, the cracks will show. Some of the heart crumbling from further blows, until it is fortified, not with a wall, but with a glue gun and magic. Slow, calculated magic, here and there, where needed. Until eventually, miraculously, all has been healed. Meanwhile, through the whole process, life has continued on. And the owner, not able to spend every moment working on the heart, must conti...
Read more

Looking Past the Weaknesses

Image
By Claire Enos As I was reading an article  on seeing past the outward appearances and seeing each other as God sees each of us, I was filled with joy that there are people out there who are compassionate and willing to look past the ugly outside to see the good inside. However, as I read through some of the comments at the end of the article, I was filled with sadness. As people, none of us are perfect. We all have imperfections. My mom can't spell very well, I know people with atrocious grammar (and I'm no where near perfect on that front either). However, my mom and my friends are among the smartest people I know. They've gone to school, some of them have degrees in various areas or are working on getting degrees. It saddens me to know that these people who are very smart are judged based on how poorly they spell or how horrible their grammar is. As an English major I understand the importance of spelling and grammar, and how they can affect how a person is seen. I...
Read more

Follow Your Heart

Something so simple, yet simply profound. Follow your heart. I mean, how deliciously simple can it get?! All these years I've been agonizing over decisions I shouldn't have worried about. I worried because of remarks from friends and family which made me feel inferior, like I couldn't take care of myself. These decisions mostly involved affairs of the heart, college, and my future. Sure, some of the advice I received I kind of wish I'd listened to, but if I had I wouldn't have learned such a valuable lesson. The last two or three months have been one gigantic learning curve for me, and although it sometimes hurts to think about, I'm glad I had the experience. When my uncle said all that mattered is that I follow my heart, that's when I knew where things had gone wrong, and where things were going right. My college degree is right, because I'm following my heart. God wouldn't have given me a love of and a talent for writing if it weren't right...
Read more