On the Relationship Between the Beauty of Life and Freedom
Cherish life. How wonderful it is. Among all things in the world, only human life is aware of its own existence, with joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, hate, and desire. Other things can also be beautiful, such as a flower, a bird, or a rock, but the most beautiful and worth cherishing is human life and its consciousness. Flowers can only bloom in spring, birds can only forage for food their entire lives, and rocks can only silently endure wind and rain; only humans and their consciousness can choose and be free. In other words, other existing things are inevitable, while human life and consciousness are free, and it is not determined by the environment, and it can be unrestrained and exuberant.
Although a human life is also influenced and limited by the environment, those influences and restrictions are not absolute; people can choose. People can choose to live a wealthy life, or a life of poverty; they can choose to marry, or choose to be single; they can choose to be busy, or choose to be leisurely; they can choose to be lively, or choose to be lonely; they can choose to be happy, or choose to be in pain.
Whenever I think about the vastness of the universe and the brevity of life, I instinctively yearn for spiritual and physical freedom. In this short and cruel moment, there is no reason to restrain life or suppress its freedom. A life of restraint is just a life; a freely unrestrained life is also just a life. Therefore, there is no reason not to be free.
Freedom is choice. Choice is freedom. When we make choices with free will, we are free. Not making choices and letting the environment and others determine how we do and think, that is not freedom. Some people don't want to make choices, don't make choices, and simply let the environment, others, and fate determine their destiny; these people are closer to a flower, a bird, and a rock. The more actively people choose, the closer they are to the peak of life, and the more free they are.
Those who have insight are free people, not predetermined people. When a person still lives in determinism, all their actions, thoughts, and feelings are determined by the environment. But when a person has seen through everything, and understands the world and life, then they are free. Their actions, thoughts, and feelings are no longer constrained by the environment, with abundant randomness, and spontaneous whims. This is the freedom of the will.
The beauty of life comes from its freedom. A beautiful life must be free. Only those who constantly pursue freedom are truly beautiful.
