Freedom

This Passover has been a very interesting experience. After working in an office for so many years, working at home has been a real treat. I was much more relaxed than ever before about getting everything that needed to get done, done. There’s always a ton to do before the holiday. With a lot of help from my family, everything got done a bit early, and we were able to enjoy ourselves before the holiday started.

While sitting at the Seder, I spent a lot of time thinking about freedom, and what it really meant to me. It’s not that my work on The Pet Wiki is the only awe inspiring, interesting and exciting work that I’ve ever done. I’ve been in jobs in which I’ve felt inspired and needed before. But working for yourself is different. I truly feel free.

What does that mean? I am free from a regular scheduled work day. I don’t look at the clock. I know what needs to be done, and I work to get it done. That’s it. I still work crazy hours and I’m logged in from early morning until late at night. I have the freedom to prioritize and create great things.

I am free from boredom. True, there are some tasks that I need to do which are less than stimulating, but there is so much to do that I can switch off and do more interesting things. I’ll go back and do what I need to – I won’t just blow it off.  I just have the power to mix it up. It is all mine to choose.

I am free to be me. I don’t have to worry about company politics and bureaucracy. I’m a nice person in general, so being me is a good thing. I can express myself however I like without worrying about what trouble I might get into. I get to come up with outlandish ideas, and even get to work on them.

I would have thought that not having a steady paycheck would have had the opposite effect on me, that I’d be constantly worried about how to make ends meet, but it’s done the exact opposite. I now realize how much clutter and junk that I had in my life, and how used to rule my decisions. Simplicity is truly freeing.