I have spent what little bit of my life that has passed wishing constantly for something that I cannot rightly define. I became a teacher to pursue this ideal, I have taught others to wish for it and follow it like fireflies forever flying to the stars. In the end though, as I sit here and ponder as often I am wont to do, I realise that I do not know that of which I seek.
Freedom.
Sweet word. I feel it, sometimes. I feel it when I stand upon a mountain top, alone triumphant in my victory over nature. I stand there whispering to myself "There is no thing of this world that can chain me". I feel it when I walk the night streets of London or in the wilderness of Montana. I feel it when I wander.
But most of all I feel it when I look upon the night sky.
Vast. The great void of the universe, terrible and wonderful at once in its expanse. I want it. I feel it in there, freedom.
Would that I could take a ship and vanish. A wanderer to truly wander, I wish for that.
I wonder, then, now, if anyone else wishes such things.
That was beautiful. Seriously, man, you hit the nail on the head. Every time I look at the night sky, I want to go out there and see what the universe(s) has/have to offer.
If only it was that easy.
P.S. You're getting +1 Karma for this!
Ditto guys, Everynight i can i look up at the night sky wondering about the universe, its funny, as we learn more about it the more mysterious it becomes, And that is what makes it so appealing, the secrets it has to offer as well as the freedom, I would give everything i have to travel among the stars learning its secrets as well as enjoying the freedom it has to offer.
To see what we have never seen,to be what we have never been,to shed the chrysalis and fly,depart the earth, kiss the sky,to be reborn, be someone new:Is this a dream or is it true?Can our future be cleanly shornfrom a life to which we're born?Is each of a creature free-or traped at birth by destiny?Pity those who belive the latter.Without freedom, nothing matters.-The Book of Counted Sorrows
Nice post TC.
Although I think if we we're able to bend our tiny minds around just how BIG space really is we might find it oppressive
Look at the trials and tribulations of your life, look up and you realize just how little it matters in the grand scheme of things.
Interesting. I clicked on this thread expecting a legal debate on whether or not space should be free. For example, who and how may lay a sovereign claim upon a stretch of space? What gives him the right to do so? How can it be enforced? It would be an interesting discussion.
I for one have always said that I was born either to early or to late. It seems that in this era in which I live right now nothing really happens. Yes there is a war now and again but it's pretty far away for me living in Canada. There are a few little discoveries, but nothing really life shattering. The entire planet is pretty much already discovered. There is no real adventures left to live. I wish I could come home one day and the entire world as stopped, everybody is watching the news as the first warp capable starship is tested and succeeds.
If I was born just 500 years ago or 500 years in the future I think there would be so much to do. I find our time to be very boring when I read the history of our world. I imagine that in 500 years from now we will be in the grand void of space exploring the vastness of space and finding delights in the stars. I have to hope that we will break the light barrier at some point. I hate to believe that we have all this universe to explore but are condemed to our little Area of our galaxy. It,s like seeing a nice chocolate cake on the table but never able to get a piece.
All that is left for human curiosity is the glorious sky of which the OP is talking about. Your words are music to my ears.
Let us all wish for the day when space is no longer a barrier.
Thinking of space is to me, sometimes very depressing. Realizing that the universe is so incredibly huge and that we're most likely a tiny island in a sea of nothingness often leads me to start thinking about what happens after we die then to realize that since I'm so tiny, what actual impact do I have on anything, even if I can benefit society the society is so relatively microscopic in comparison to the universe.
I am certain that we will explore the galaxy one way or another, either by breaking the lightspeed barrier outright or by making ourselves so long-lived that the centuries it would take to explore the galaxy are irrelevant. I don't get bothered by our size in the universe, because physical size is irrelevant. It only takes the actions of a few people (the President and I believe the Secretary of Defense) to determine whether the world will be a lump of mildly radiocative dust tomorrow. It only takes the actions of a small group of people (≈50% of all swing voters) to decide who will have the power to determine whether the world will be a lump of mildly radioactive dust tomorrow. Little things matter a LOT.
Infinity is almost impossible for people to grasp, think about it, everything you do has a purpose only because it has an end. If life never ended, you would not be driven to accomplish anything. The universe is infinetly vast, and completely mysterious, we haven't even figured out where gravity comes from yet. FTL travel is necessary to explore the universe, but not to enjoy it. If you are exploring at that speed, think of all the empty, truly empty, voids you will miss, all the quiet and solitude.
P.S. i completely agree with being born too early or too late, everything has already been done here and nothing will happen out there for hundreds of years, i guess we have to sit back and wait for an alien race to find us and give us all their cool toys
hey who knows maybe in a century or to they will look back at this period as the "Digital revolution"
Freedom, as defined by Marriam-Webster, is:
1: the quality or state of being free: as a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
So, then, exactly how do you wish to be free?
The carpenter wishes to be free to make what he wishes, and as he sees fit. The engineer wishes to be free to design what he wishes, and as he sees fit.
And the terrorist wishes to be free to kill those whom he sees fit.
And all without any consequences to himself.
Your entire OP is nothing more than wanting to be free of life, and its conditions, itself.
Freedom does not exist - period. We are all bound by rules. And whether those rules are imposed by a government or by God Himself - there is no true freedom in this world.
Because, as Newton's third law of motion points out, there is no action without an equal and opposite reaction.
Which simply means, for you to be totally free, another has to be totally subjugated.
So be careful what you wish for. You might just get it, but at anothers cost. (ultimately to be your own cost, with interest! - if the Bible is true and accurate)
If you only and truly wish to be free, the only option is death.
True enough. Freedom from the constraints of life is exceptional. Things are a nuisance. The necessity of breathing, for example.
I seek freedom fron constraint, but as all things contain within them a certain degree of necessary constraint it is foolish and, dare I say, dangerous and arrogant to wish for perfect freedom.
However...
The quest for that which cannot be obtained is no less noble for its inability to succeed.
It is as a great warrior, striving always to better his prowess in battle. There will always be someone greater, but the endeavour in itself makes it worthwhile, regardless of the outcome.
It is the search for freedom, the search for escape from the constraints of man and the limitations that plague him, that is at the heart of this matter, that contains within it the profound joy of the act.
It is not the destination, but rather the journey.
If we don't blow ourselves up with nuclear missiles first.
If all else fails, read the instruction manual
This is why I love looking up at the night sky, or glancing at the pictures of the Deep Field Hubble Images, and love the feeling that I am nothing in a massively expansive Universe.
While at the same time my friends stand their utterly confused, looking at me like I'm a dork.
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