True Freedom: A Matter of the Mind
There was a scene in Squid Game Season 3 where a guy who had just gotten out of prison after serving six months called it a "six-month vacation." That line stuck with me. It reminded me of a conversation I had with my neighbours years ago. They said the key difference between being in prison and being free is freedom. But I didn’t agree. Freedom, to me, is relative. It’s not defined by walls or geography, it’s defined by your state of mind and your state of being.
I remember taking a two-week annual leave and spending the entire time inside my apartment. I didn’t leave the compound once. The only time I went downstairs was every few days to warm my car. I was technically confined, but I was free. Free in my mind, my space, my rhythm.
On the flip side, you will find people who travel freely, country to country, state to state, yet they are not truly free. Their mind is caged, their peace is locked up. Their joy is held hostage by things you can’t see. That’s the irony, freedom isn’t about movement; it’s about detachment. You can cross oceans and still be in chains.
I love that verse in the Bible that says, “I have come to set you free.” Jesus wasn’t talking to prisoners behind bars. He was talking to people who walk the streets, live in houses, go to parties, run businesses, people who appear free, but are prisoners of sin, guilt, fear, and shame. That’s the real bondage.
And it's not just spiritual bondage. There’s also the prison of self-made expectations. You see it in Nollywood movies too, in those money ritual plots. The person gets wealth, but they’re slapped with strict rules. Don’t eat this, don’t go here, don’t do that. They have money, but their life is a prison. That’s not freedom, that’s a high-paying cage.
There are people who chase money so hard they become enslaved to it. The love of money, the hunger for luxury, the addiction to power, these things look shiny on the outside but they can rob you of peace on the inside. Some people are stuck in jobs they hate, stuck in marriages they regret, stuck in countries they want to escape from, all because they believe freedom is somewhere else. Some even go through extreme lengths, suffering in silence just to secure the citizenship of another country, thinking once they get it, they’ll finally be free. But then they get there, and still feel trapped.
Some people on the streets would rather be in a prison yard. There, their meals are guaranteed, shelter is sure, medical care is covered. For them, that’s a form of freedom. Freedom from uncertainty, hunger, exposure. When survival is your prison, structure can feel like liberty.
Even the wardens who work in prisons, are they not also inside? Technically, yes but the difference is that they can leave if they want to. That’s the only thing separating them from the inmates. Both groups share the same space, but one has the mindset and option of freedom. That’s the real deal. Freedom is not about physical boundaries, it’s about the presence of choice and peace of mind.
Many of us are walking free but bound. Bound by finances, career expectations, family obligations, toxic relationships, religion, culture, materialism, and sometimes even by the idea of “success” we’ve sold to ourselves. We think we are free because we are not behind bars. But if we are honest, we are not.
The greatest kind of freedom is when you break out of these invisible prisons. When you are not ruled by what people think, or what you have, or don’t have. When your peace is not determined by your bank account. When your choices aren’t controlled by fear, pressure, or validation.
That, my friend, is true freedom. And it starts in the mind.