You Have More Freedom Than You Think!

Seneca, A popular Stoic philosopher and Ancient Rome’s leading intellectual figure in the mid-1st century CE once said, “Slavery resides beneath marble and gold.”

  The older I get, the more that line hits home. Often most would see this and have the rudimentary takeaway that, yes people can often be slaves to their wealth or materials. Diving deeper, the less affluent also don’t have to maintain foolish pretenses and put on a front to either receive or maintain their status and renown, while the wealthy and famous must. Think about it, while the world loves to chase opulence, status, and a following, there’s a strange truth hiding underneath all that shine: the people we think are “free” often live the most tightly bound lives of all.

Take the wealthy, the powerful, or the celebrity class. Athletes, actors, and musicians, alike, all carefully craft their image and reputation just to paint a certain narrative. On the surface, they seem limitless—private jets, designer wardrobes, invitations, and trips to places we’ll never see. But once you peek behind the curtain, the full picture gets complicated. Every post, photo, and word is carefully curated. Every friendship has hidden power dynamics. Even their smiles often look rehearsed. That’s not freedom; it’s a performance. 

Continuing the masquerade, until eventually, they lose their sense of selves. Hence why after a while, folks in the limelight begin to lose that sparkle in their eyes. As the years pass by, we’ve seen dozens of actors and musicians age horrendously and look like shells of their former, younger, more vibrant selves. To me, this is the equivalent of selling one’s soul. It’s to relinquish one’s GOD given authenticity, uniqueness and principles for money, fame, and acceptance. To forsake yourself for what the world deems valuable. 

The average person does not have that issue.

Nevertheless, the average person—the one waiting at the bus stop, clocking in to their 9-to-5, or walking their dog at sunset—often forgets how much autonomy they truly have. You can say what you want (mostly). You can put on whatever you want without setting off a public relations disaster. Laughter needn’t come with the side worry about if it’s on-brand for you. And that is a kind of freedom no amount of gold can buy.

The irony is that many of us willingly trade away that freedom to imitate the very people who’ve lost theirs. We model our moods, slang, mannerisms, and opinions on influencers and public figures who have to think twice before doing or saying anything remotely unscripted.  Rather than embrace our individuality, we succumb to the trends and opinions that everyone else follows and holds sacred, until authenticity seems nearly transgressive and rebellious.

That is the tragedy of our era: we demand freedom, yet fear the price of being ourselves. People speak about being "canceled", rejected, or ridiculed, but what they seem to fear above all is not belonging. We play it safe for reputation's sake-forgetting that reputation is only half in our control. We can do our part and have some degree of control over how others view us, it’s true, but we can’t dictate nor orchestrate it. Trying to manage too tightly what people think about us is just another kind of slavery. 

Perhaps Seneca was right: the loaded life comes with invisible chains. But maybe, the most radical form of wealth isn’t having more—it’s needing less. It’s the luxury of waking up each day and not having to pretend. To just Be.

Praise God.

"If I really wanna be free, I gotta be Me"--Unknown