A Philosopher’s Adventure #3

Episode #3 - Finding Freedom

There is something special about the opening shot of all of these episodes. The peaceful cinematography de-shocks your brain out of the buzzed world we live in with calm nature flyovers. When I took notes on this episode the first time, I wrote the question, why are these opening drone shots so appealing? The peace they bring is so contrasted against the hustle of life, the relentless news cycle, and the constant buzz of electricity. Honestly, stop and listen for a second and think about all the things you can hear that run on electricity. I can hear the fright, a clock, and a laptop fan as I type this.

We witness freedom in this journey—not the William Wallace version of freedom, but freedom from the self-inflicted, bolted-on burdens of life. Some of what we build into our lives is helpful and supportive. But a lot of decisions are made on our behalf along the way. We must carry the side effects of those decisions until we find a way to cast them off. I’m not sure society is set up to teach us how to unbolt that which makes life more difficult. Something like therapy might be a front-and-center solution. When I look up the goal of therapy, the National Institute of Mental Health says the goal is to find relief from symptoms, maintain or enhance daily functions, and improve quality of life. That definition doesn’t look to change the way we live in the society that is being built around us nor alter the decisions that are made on our behalf. I’m not saying therapy is not useful, I’m saying there is another step and I think part of that step is showing people what Martijn’s freedom looks like.

Ok, don’t freak out. One person’s freedom can’t be everyone’s freedom. I’m not suggesting we all homestead on a south-facing mountain in Italy. What I am saying is to, if possible, 1) find the space (mental and/or physical) to think about all that is built into your life, 2) consider what is helping or hurting you in your life, 3) define steps you can take to help yourself, 4) make decisions on your own behalf to the benefit of yourself and those you care about.

In the interest of setting a good example, I’ll go first. I had a job and a commute that left me depressed and occupied a lot of my time in the form of energy recovery and a constant case of the Sunday Scaries. I was laid off from that job which replaced the long-term Sunday Scaries with dread and fear of the unknown. This led to depression, loss of energy, lack of exercise, and all that goes with it. I was lucky and found a new job that made me feel good about the difference I was making for other people and the help I brought to the people I worked with. My soul had been cleansed. The job that was bad for me, while it cast itself off on its own, was replaced with something better for me and that allowed me to consider other elements of my life. My creative energy, now deflated by depression and lack of exercise, needed to be refueled. I now have a regular exercise schedule, I feel physically good, I’m happier and I’m writing again.

I know I am lucky amongst my peers who were laid off at the same time. Being able to go through these steps is a privilege. If I am able to take the steps, I will because it is good for me and the people who rely on me for support, friendship, and love.

During this episode, we see Martijn being interviewed, and one of the questions is, “How is he able to do this?” We learn he is a Graphic Designer who can work from anywhere he has a connection to Wi-Fi. I have never liked knowing this kind of information about content creators. I think it is important to know that all this just doesn’t happen, but the specifics of a person’s life and their income structure mean little to me if I get the entertainment I’m looking for. For full transparency, I am a Patreon supporter of Martijn. I value his films and am happy to send in my monthly movie ticket to consume these wonderful films.

The solar array is finished, at least in its first iteration. The idea is to start small, figure out how much power he consumes on the property, and grow the system. What a great lesson for life as well. We all outgrow our power supply, and no one is there to tell us not to until it is too late. Growing into the life we can support is not the way I was spoken to as a child. I was told to make myself bigger than my income and relationship network could support and then backfill with job promotions and more education. I don’t feel like that approach has worked out for as many people as the designers of that theory thought it would. We get a demonstration from Martijn of a healthy approach. Start small, find out what you need and grow if/when you want to.

The overlook that makes regular appearances in the story. The colors are beautiful, the view must be powerful in person and the humility of his existence is as warm as the colors that surround him.

The forest is ready to go to sleep for the winter. These are the cycles of life. I think this ties into our own eternity. To teach how to live in harmony with the cycles of life and keeping life within the energy available to us allows for a legacy to carry on from one generation to the next. In this case, we are making through this seasonal cycle of life and resting to prepare for the next seasonal cycle. Speaking of, Martin gets to work on the plumbing fixture at his water source. Sometimes you have to dig a hole in the ground to understand what you’re looking at.

The land is coming to a resting state with a final colorful show.

Thanks for reading, see you next time.

CHR;)