What is freedom?

There was a photography exhibit on display back in Dhaka, Bangladesh that we really enjoyed that focused on the theme of freedom. This particular photographer displayed portraits of people from around the world and next to their portrait was a piece of paper in which they defined freedom. It was a beautiful exercise defining such a complex concept, and I would invite you all to consider how you would define freedom. I had felt so 'free' driving along in a car in the solitude of the Omani peninsula and strolling along wide open beaches without a soul around. And then we flew back to India and caught a train from Delhi to Amritsar on the Pakistani border....a nine hour train ride in a coach packed with people. After the sun set, the air cooled and a thunderstorm was brewing out on the horizon. Lightning flashed and flickered off in the distance as I hung out the doorway with the cool wind biting at my face. I felt overwhelmed by the freedom that the journey in India has brought us. The hassles of transportation all melted away as I stood there with the damp air dancing through my hair, the sound of the chugging train drumming in my ears, and our destination lying ahead under the storm clouds. It was a beautiful moment in this long journey of ours that reminded me of just how free this journey has made us and what that freedom has been teaching us. (I'm not sure I'm ready to define freedom, as I am still formulating what it means to me.)