Independence

Independence is the fact or state of being independent, that is the way Oxford Dictionary defines it and which evidently is hardly helpful. It is a curious choice for a topic to write about at 5 am in a rather chilly October morning but this is where my head has stuck at the moment and independence it will be (ironically it is independence that lets me stay awake all night and write about it at whatever time i intend to).
Independence is subjective to a person's opinion and circumstances that he finds himself in. In our rather conservative society (I live in Pakistan), independence is achieved even by small acts of rebellion or non conformity. Or to put it more aptly, even small acts of rebellion or non conformity are seen by the society as independence. And the society works tooth and nail to take it back from you I assure you. Independence from a consigned and accepted terms of living is deemed inappropriate, even if you are 40 years of age, completely settled in your life and with every practical and academic qualification to do so. But your attempts to free yourself from the norms and traditions are met with scepticism, godlessness and often ridicule. You are told of the risks involved, the peril you might find yourself in, the neighbours and what they will think, the friends and how they will abandon you, the relatives and how they will look at the family with disdain and so on. And that my friends is why it is so difficult in our world to gain independence, except if you have nothing to lose and I for one do not want to be in that predicament.
Ofcourse no one can ever be truly independent and therefore what is the harm in allowing someone a few laughs or adrenalin rushes once in a while, even if the methods involved are unorthodox. Well to be perfectly honest, it is all easy for me to write at this ungodly hour. 20,25 years from now and when my adolescent son will be typing stuff like this, I guess I will be there as part of this society to prune his thoughts according to my wishes, like it has happened all along history.
Hamd out!