Freedom comes
when you no longer
feel the need
to prove anything
to anybody.
Until then,
you’re ruled by
your own conditioning.
The point isn’t
whether that’s good or bad.
You are ruled
by your own measure,
which is only
a slight adaptation
of the rulers and rules
imposed upon you.
When you are ruled
by your own expectations,
you are not entirely free.
Trail Wood,
8/26
Freedom arrives
when the compulsion
to validate oneself
fades into oblivion.
Till then,
chained to the confines
of societal dictums,
self-crafted or inherited.
The judgment lies not
in whether it’s virtue or vice.
You remain governed,
by the yardstick you wield,
a subtle shift from those
imposed externally.
When captive to self-made ideals,
liberation remains a distant star.
Trail Wood,
8/26