Inner Freedom: Shaping How We Perceive and Respond to the World
I wrote about freedom back in 2020 in Remember, Freedom Is Yours Until You Give It Up. Reading in G. K. Chesterton’s Autobiography this morning prompted me to reread my post and realize my words I wrote then are still relevant today. Then I read this from G. K. Chesterton this morning, “From the first vaguely, and of late more and more clearly, I have felt that the world is conceiving liberty as something that merely works outwards. And I have always conceived it as something that works inwards.” This caused me to think deeply about what Chesterton meant by this.
I believe Chesterton was highlighting a distinction between the superficial and deeper understandings of liberty. When he says that the world often sees liberty as something that “merely works outwards,” he’s referring to the common view that freedom is about external circumstances—such as political rights, legal freedoms, or outward expressions.
However, I’ve found from studying Chesterton that he believed that true liberty is more inward and spiritual. He conceived it as an internal state—a form of self-mastery or inner freedom—that influences how we think, feel, and make choices. In essence, he was emphasizing that genuine liberty begins within the individual, shaping how we perceive and respond to the world, rather than just external conditions or constraints.
It always amazes me how a couple of sentences from a great author can make a person think. Chesterton’s saying, “From the first vaguely, and of late more and more clearly, I have felt that the world is conceiving liberty as something that merely works outwards. And I have always conceived it as something that works inwards” did that for me. His perspective encourages looking inward for freedom—cultivating inner independence and moral integrity—rather than solely focusing on external rights or societal structures.
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