Yes! I see just what you mean. I feel overwhelmed with concurrence!


Freedom is flow. Natural consequences teach what actions are helpful or hurtful. It makes me think of the discussion I have had more than once with people who defend organized religion and the bible where they say that without the bible, how would people know right from wrong.

And I say, Commonsense. Compassion. Reasoning. I never needed anyone to tell me not to hurt others. One the few occasions that I did, I felt awful! I remember being angry at my sister when we were small (about 5 y.o) and scratching her with my long nails and seeing blood bead to the surface of her skin and being struck with complete horror. I still remember the reasoning in my mind at that moment, it felt so bad to see what I had done, sooo bad that I declared then and there that I would never do that again. Ever. No matter how angry I became. Nothing was worth feeling that bad.

If I had been punished on top of that (by my parents) it would have been redundant to say the least. It probably would have developed from guilt into shame. Maybe punishment promotes shame.

Though not everyone may have this sort of conscience (maybe it takes lifetimes).

What about pets and animals? Don't they need boundaries though? Are we only talking about freedom for humans?