Freedom

Posted 10/22/2013

I was thinking about Kris Kristofferson's great line from Bobby McGee, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" and it occurred to me that freedom's just another word for nothing left to HIDE. 

There's a happening church in downtown Asheville that asked people to write their deepest secrets and submit them anonymously. These were then transcribed and displayed in a gallery setting. It was fascinating. My favorite was, "I hate my baby." That took a lot of guts to write. What impacted me in reading these deep dark secrets was the unrelenting suffering they obviously caused the secret-holders. I can relate to that. Can you?

Katie and I define "freedom" as unrestrained by limitation. What is a secret if not an encumbrance, a limitation? We must perpetually guard it, insuring that it never sees the light of day, that no one will ever discover it, etc. Hiding something requires constant effort and fear of exposure.

I guess the trick is to reach the point where we no longer give a shit what anyone else thinks of us, to openly declare "This is who I am, warts and all." As an old singer/songwriter pal Jeffrey C. used to say, "Sure hope you like it." He'd then add, "And fuck you if you can't take a joke."

That's why I wrote "Exposing Myself: A Life of Sex and Truth." 

Sure hope you like it...