FREEDOM

Dear X

I am a just person looking for stories, and some would say I have a habit of cutting people out of my life, but in my defense, I have already found out their story, and they no longer interest me.

Speaking of stories, Danes first invaded England in the 6th century or 8th century when they were first able to build ships and sail by the side of the shore. We don’t remember clearly when but we know of them as these godless, soulless, ruthless killers who only cared about silver and land. The English Romans never considered them human because they believed in a different god, the one, and only Christ. In their basements, they still retained the images of the pagan Gods that their ancestors worshipped because the sense of irony and tasteful art was not lost on them. But at the time, Christian missionaries were yet to spread the teachings of Christ to those far off land; therefore, Danes followed no law. They knew bravery was to die with their sword only to be born again in Valhalla and fight again.

Now, not in anyway, I support the useless killing, but I couldn’t help but think they were the first immigrants. Even with their bad reputation, they were the first explorers not scared of sailing far away, they followed no rules, they were rebels living free. Hell, it is said they discovered North America way before Columbus did. They were living with the people who spoke different languages and even convinced them to let them farm on their lands. Sounds familiar yet?

Anyway, my point is… In retrospect, aren’t we all pagan? We might not worship Odin- the god of all pagan gods, be swayed by Loki into mischief(well, speak for yourself) or fear Thor’s mighty hammer, or even possess Freya’s love and deception, but we have traveled for better opportunities, left our families, spoken different languages and have become hardened individuals who compete ruthlessly to own a private Valhalla. Maybe that’s why the Danes were so angry all the time, maybe they missed home.

I am more interested in the ways it changed their notion of perceived freedom. What freedom was for Danes in their homelands might not be the same in England, or maybe they saw a new kind of freedom and started chasing it. The English Romans never accepted Danes so, Danes had to accept Christ. I like to believe it wasn’t about the Gods or God, but more about the ways of life. Christianity was the law back then, but it offered peace, growth, fewer wars, a new kind of freedom, and don’t we all love that?

To think of it — who is free? I once met a prisoner, who told me he found freedom — chained to a wall, while being tortured because he was free to scream and hate the person who tortured him. And in that moment, no matter how painful it was, he was free. He could have given into the fear of his impending fate, yet he chose to hate because even though chained, he could…

The same way Dane could have stayed on their shore, refrained from entering into an unforgiving ocean without any navigation. They even had their manipulating gods to make them believe they should not. But they did it anyway, because we decide our bounds of freedom and we create the laws to make sure our freedom doesn’t chain somebody else’s freedom. We have always been curious, explorers from the beginning of time. We have risked it all, won, lost, and bet it all over again. Then why are we our own prisoners, chained in the bounds of our mental cage, when freedom is right outside our doors asking us to live as many lives as we can in one.

RW