“It’s not enough to live,” said the butterfly,“you need sunshine, freedom and a tiny flower.”

(Hans Christian Andersen)

I could only agree with that quote – especially at a time that is really kind to us (after the worst of the coronary storms and the cold winter), and in a place that, in addition to the very important security (which, unfortunately, is confirmed by the geopolitical situation of today), also provides us with a wonderful environment. But are we even aware of the freedom that we have, or do we have the freedom to live in the world? We are aware of the freedom we have? Do we even know what freedom is?

Ancient Eastern philosophy says that man has achieved true freedom when his own mind no longer controls him. Vaisheshika, for example, one of the six schools of Indian philosophy from ancient India, recognises the value of knowledge from the world of experience as a path to liberation. Liberation should also come when we no longer have the need or desire to act (for more on the views of the ancient Eastern sages, see the latest issue of the Acropolitan, published by the New Acropolis Philosophical Society).

Let us just recall the Buddha and the Buddha. Siddhartha Gotama, who was also born into an aristocratic family in ancient India, but voluntarily renounced his wealthy life in favour of a pilgrimage monasticism, which led to his enlightenment (he became a Buddha only afterwards). In today’s ‘ultra-capitalist world’, can we even imagine what it means to give up material wealth? And that in exchange for ‘awakening’?

For example, although the poet Miroslav Tičar, who transcribed Lao Tse’s famous verses about the Way, explains the fifth verse about the Tao with the idea that a sage does not need to accumulate things and material wealth and that everything that is too much is poison, that is why we are often poisoned by an overabundance of things, and the well-known Slovenian biotherapist and author of many bestselling books on healing in one of his latest books ‘Magic: the bridge between science and religion‘ shows that in the life of modern man the material and spiritual worlds are converging again, (I) have the doubt that we are still a long way from following a path similar to that of the Buddha, in the grip of the capitalist system mentioned above. But (!) …

… even the little ways count

If we ask ourselves honestly what and how much (of something) we really need in our lives, and then give ourselves an honest answer, we may see somewhere on the horizon of our (according to ancient Indian beliefs, temporary but still limited!) lives a tiny white path that just might lead us to a greater sense of personal freedom.

Example: the other day I heard from a colleague for the first time in a long time, and we hear from each other every so often, but still we immediately get into a debate as if we had heard each other the day before. And she was in a hurry to tell me about how much work she has, how many career opportunities she has, how ‘cruel time is’ when you have to take your children to this and that extra-curricular activity. And that she had bought another flat (not to save her living situation). At the end of the conversation, I mentioned that I have been working much less recently than in the past, because my priorities in life have completely changed with my husband’s illness, which he has been overcoming for the last few months.

I’m not saying that working hard and striving for success is a bad thing, not at all. I am (was) a workaholic myself and even saw a psychotherapist a few years ago because of it. I would never judge that or anything else in this case, I only mention it because it seems to me that this case is almost a ‘classic’ of our times, or rather a ‘classic’ of our times. It contains at least some of the classic elements of it, but unfortunately the more vital things are on the second, third or even on the tenth track. In such a case, would it be possible to take it along some tiny white path that would help us to bypass some detour brought about by, say, yet another non-compulsory circle or course, or to miss out on some (career, investment, study or other) ‘opportunity’?

A slip of blue thoughts

I am reminded of a cheerful young man who approached me in a shopping centre car park about three years ago. He told me his story in a few sentences, namely that he was going to cross Slovenia and that on the way he would collect a euro here and there by offering ‘surprise tickets’ or some kind of ‘fortune cookies’ (think of an American film where the hero gets a cookie in a restaurant and inside is a ticket with some kind of prophecy or wise thought), only without the cookie 😊. At the same time, I pulled out of his pencil case, where these ‘slips of blue thoughts’ were, a slip of paper that I carried in my wallet until recently (unfortunately, it has become unrecognisably tarnished over time), on which a note in English said something like this: “Think today about the things you would think about on your deathbed. Will they include regretting that you didn’t spend more time at work, or will they include the reassurance that you did all the little things that your heart told you to do?”

Although in the period when I carried this message with me everywhere I was active both in business, studies and volunteering, and I was also very ‘cosmopolitan’, so that I sought those (too) rare respites in the discovery of the world, the depth of this message was slowly but surely deepening in my consciousness. And when my husband’s illness came along, which in fact brought an unimaginable critical moment into our lives, life’s priorities changed their places almost overnight. Profoundly, because the ground was already there.

I had resigned from my then job, where I had been long enough to bring a newborn creature to the age of majority, a few months earlier, but coincidence (or not? / depending on our faith and beliefs) led to me being at home and without any major work commitments during the most critical month of my husband’s condition. I have also been studying (or today I am just waiting for the dissertation defences; yes, I have accumulated two / I certainly wouldn’t today!), and the very last of my related commitments have, frankly, been useful to turn on my intellect, which has thus occasionally alleviated a bit of the psychological stress and emotional distress I have been experiencing. I also cut back on volunteering quite a lot during this period, but as much as I did, it was a good job. Although volunteering is about not expecting to be rewarded in any way for your commitment, it was during this period that I received a lot of support from friends, which, frankly, for the first time in my life – how awful it sounds, but if I’m sharing thoughts aimed at having a good and honest relationship with oneself and thus living a full and quality life, or at least balancing it, I’ll be honest here too – really meant something to me.

Friends, struggle, flowers and freedom

I’m a person who has been a book-lover since I was in primary school, and books are still my best friends today, so I never expected anything from friends – both those in book form and those in human form. My very best friend is actually my husband, who has therefore been fighting a hard (and sometimes unenviable) battle for his life.

And if, for example, the war in Ukraine (their capital is only 1,600 kilometres away from ours!) doesn’t remind us of how fleeting life is, let’s consider that our health – alas! – is not absolute, and unfortunately, even at a young age, we may find ourselves in a situation where we have to face a more serious illness. Just as it is important to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle that includes an appropriate mix of exercise and relaxation (including beauty rituals, depending on where we ‘are’ 😊), it is also important to act in the wider world, including socialising with ‘taprava’ people (and of course other creatures, from animal family members to plants in the garden and trees in the forest 😊) and acting for the wider society. This, of course, requires listening and following our hearts.

Since – hand on heart – most of us, however, in this time and place, cannot quite follow the Siddhartha Gotama path (or I sincerely and thunderously applaud those who have or will succeed in doing so / unfortunately I don’t know anyone personally), it is my humble opinion that the path to true liberation in the marginal conditions mentioned above can only lead through a healthy mix of carefully chosen ingredients of life. So what might these be?

(Again) in my humble opinion: (1) taking proper care of oneself (what ‘proper’ means, each individual will know best, but of course this requires the aforementioned honest relationship with oneself), (2) selflessly acting for others (those who need and want it, of course / I know from my own experience that even the best intentions can find closed doors), (3) being completely open to learning and gaining experience, (4) having a constantly switched-on critical mind (in the absolutely positive sense of the word!)……………………………………………………………………………….), (5) related to the previous point, continuous work on softening or even eliminating our own ingrained beliefs, of which we are ultimately the slaves, and last but not least (6) awareness of what and how much we really need in our lives to make it truly fulfilling in the true sense of the word (which can of course also be done by means of a concrete financial calculation of the domestic budget on the one hand and of such and such needs on the other hand / the very basic question is whether we really need everything we acquire). And of course the 7 (how interesting (!) – 7 is one of the most powerful numbers in numerology and even the Bible mentions it often, not to mention in fairy tales 😊). It is the willingness to change or to be changed. To change (according to all the previous points).

However, as this recipe of life’s ingredients is by no means a complete whole, the reader is free to add his/her own ‘flourishes’. Flowers that will lead her/him to true freedom. Freedom that we can still afford in the given time and space.

To conclude, I would like to take a thought from the fresh Acropolitan by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, appropriate to the time and place (seasonal and geopolitical): ‘Even if you wipe out all the flowers, you won’t stop the coming of spring’.

And have a good spring with good care for yourself – including the recently awarded ‘Beauty Shortlist Awards’ products of the NANU range!