Nothing in nature is deadline oriented

Thoughts on deadline, the machine and the true nature of freedom.

The deadline is imposed in order to deliver product in a timely manner. One might assume that without the deadline nothing would get accomplished. I know better.

When we plant a garden do we give it a deadline to bear fruit? Does the weather change right when the calendar marks the spring and fall equinoxes? Do newborn babies make their natural appearance into this world at an established time? Does death beckon us according to our set schedules?

Nothing in nature is deadline oriented. And are we not as human beings an integral part of nature? We are living, breathing beings. We are not drones. We are alive. We belong to this universe. It is not out there somewhere on a galactic map. It is right here. We are as much a part of the heavens as the stars in the night sky are.

And the universe is constantly changing. It naturally changes. It needs no deadline.

Although the deadline may seem to assemble a product in a timely manner it also stifles creativity -- which is counter-productive. The problem with deadline is it has no vision. It only knows what it has always done and continues to repeat the pattern.

The pattern goes on and on and on until one day it breaks. It can take decades on top of decades for the mold to break completely. And yes, it may crumble a bit here and there but, we can so easily turn a blind eye to its decline by holding steadfast to the belief in the machine.

What machine, say you?

The machine that makes us jump when the alarm clock sounds. The machine that schedules work into every facet of our lives. The machine that works to the tick-tock of the clock. And the machine that we have so meticulously assembled around us in a vain attempt to control our little spot in the universe.

Yes, I said we have grown vain as a race of beings. And it is this vanity that blinds our vision. Our sight is too small and we have forgotten what was once native to our beings. We have forgotten what it truly means to be free. We have buried it so deep within our psyche that we have even allowed the machine to redefine the word.

According to the machine, freedom is something we must fight for. It is something we must earn. It is something we must uphold by imposing our ideas on others. And we vainly believe that we can even liberate others in this fight for freedom. But, this is not the way of freedom. This is the way of the machine.

And the hard pill to swallow is that we have allowed it to happen. In our vain quest for freedom we have bargained our lives away by becoming part of the machine -- enslaved to its deadlines, calendars, assembly lines and clocks.

We are not free. Although, who really wants to admit to being a drone? So instead we plug along pretending to not remember what we once knew. Lying to ourselves saying -- freedom comes with retirement, the weekend or a long-awaited vacation. But no matter how long we wait, freedom cannot be earned from the machine.

Freedom is life in all of its natural forms. It is the bird taking flight. It is the hibernation of the bear in the winter time. It is the appearance of the rainbow after a storm. It is the newborn baby's birth, the calling of death and all life in between.

Freedom is not tangible. It cannot be owned. And yet, it exists.

Freedom is a state of being, a consciousness and a way of living. It is right here and now. It is each and every moment. Freedom is life of mind, heart and spirit.

And each time we hold on to the machine's set deadlines and schedules we allow it to slowly slip from the grasp of our beings. But, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's more like something to wake up to.

Timberly is a staff writer at the Greene County Daily World. She can be reached by e-mail at tferree@gcdailyworld.com or by phone at 1-800-947-4487 or (812) 847-4487.