Flying Without Wings

I think of rivers, of tides. Forests and water gushing out. Rain and lightening. Rocks and shadows. All of these are in me.
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

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In many ways, freedom is often misunderstood as something that is controlled by an external source in our lives — a person, a situation, a condition, a compromise, a regret. But more often than not, being truly free is a part of self acceptance and self-realization. Being free-willed, free-spirited and free-hearted are very often in our control. And freedom — to think, speak, act or be, springs from this inner sense of being truly free. We are all born with the wings that give us flight, but seldom do we recognize the need to explore a new territory, question a comfortable existence or challenge ourselves to the unknown. We let the wings fade away with time, melt away with each warm summer — believing they are too frail, too incompetent. But there comes a time, when you realize that you have only two choices — to fly away or fade away — so you work on those broken wings, or simply learn to fly without them. Your spirit comes alive like sunshine peeking through a blanket of dark clouds, your will finds a strength that is marred by no amount of soul thrashing, and your heart is etched with a deep blue tattoo of that new truth, that fresh beginning.

As women of today, as women who are constantly under the pressure of making themselves empowered, liberated, and successful — somewhere, we have begun to lose the essence of our inner grace, the earnest meaning of being truly free, and the maturity of thought and action that come with this freedom. We are fighting the currents too hard, raising our voices too soon, asking the questions before we need to know the answers, and believing that in doing so — we are moving forward when sometimes, we are just not ready within our minds, bodies and our souls to walk that path. We simply follow the voices we hear, like a drill — never really prepared for when the drill turns into a real firefight.

We confuse concepts, understanding only half the truth, solving only part of the puzzle, ingesting only one triangle of pizza calories. But when the time comes to finally look into the mirror, we see parts of us we don’t recognize — parts we made because we had to rather than having wanted to. We find it impossible to relate to our inner selves, like it is you doing these things — but you aren’t really there. Like there’s a lunatic running free in your mind, driving your car, sleeping in your bed, and eating your carbs. The day you stop identifying with yourself is the day your sense of being free is strangely holding you down, blurring your vision. And yet, taming that free-will and guarding that free-spirit is the only way to have the cake and eat it too.

Whether you are the 9 to 5 office-goer, the stay-at-home or work-from-home mommy, the weekend party hopper, the compulsive bridesmaid, the girl next door or the dress-up drama queen — you have a soul that is free by its own will. Your wings are waiting for you to take off into the sunset — but only when you are ready. Only when you find your free-spirit to be controlled by nothing else, and nobody else but your zest for life. Only when you test yourself, give yourself the chances to fail, and accept that to be truly free, you must define where your happiness lies. You must quantify it, break rules if you have to, cross borders if you need to, bleed if you’ve got to. Remember, freedom will always come at a hefty cost.

It will require that you use your discretion, without selling your soul to the aliens. It will require that your boundaries protect you, your loved ones believe in you and your dreams come chasing after you even when you think you’ve been burned alive. It will certainly require a will made of steel, a heart open to ache, and a mind hungry for conflict. Nobody warned you that being young, wild and free would take so much practice — so much control.

But, in time, whatever you decide to be or become, you must look the part, play the part and live the part until the day it begins to mould your identity. Let the free-thinker, true believer, and heart warmer in you be the traits that define your real freedom. Set yourself free inside, and everything outside of your own being will shift tides to catch your wave.

“…Yeah Darlin’ go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace…”
Born to be wild, Steppenwolf

And that thought brings me to the end of this post. Last but not the least, this post was conceived and conceptualized in collaboration with Voylla Fashion Jewellery. Crafted and designed on the basis of a women’s campaign that proudly celebrates women for looking their part, being themselves and finding themselves through the varied roles they play in their lives, this brand represents the true free-spirit of every woman. This Independence Day, inspired by several art forms across India, Voylla inspires freedom through their Republic of Jewellery campaign — a collection that spans creative art forms across all Indian states. This collection is now available for purchase in their online shop and their stores across India.

Find below, the links for all the jewellery I am wearing in this post. Although this is a sponsored post, all ideas, thoughts and creative concepts are exclusively mine.

Earrings from the Kantha collection – https://studio.voylla.com/campaign/kantha-jewelry-collection

Earrings from the Chikankari collection – https://www.voylla.com/campaign/chikankari-collection

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Like a true nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild.
Happy Independence day.

Until next time,

XOXO