Basel, Switzerland. Working with The Philosophy of Freedom by Rudolf Steiner is a central element of the Anthroposophy Study Program at the Goetheanum. Michelle Yang, originally from China, shares her reflections.
What we call a “path” arises neither from a single point nor leads to a predetermined destination. It is a process unfolding continuously, a movement in which life itself is the starting point. As long as I act from life, this movement persists. In this unfolding, whether the body moves or rests, whether one seeks or pauses, these actions no longer define the focus of life. The attention of life shifts. It is no longer: “Where am I going?” Nor: “What am I to become?” Nor even: “Who am I?” Freedom does not depend on the search for the self. At this stage, I need not know who I am; I need not become a determined being. I need not reach a final answer. As these questions gradually fall away, a new clarity emerges: responsibility. Not imposed externally, but arising naturally through living. As a person, responsibility to myself; as a mother, responsibility to my daughter, to her little dog; to my parents; and to the world. These responsibilities grow organically from action itself, not from rules or expectations.
Thus, freedom is no longer about leaving; it manifests through engagement in the life at hand—to undertake, to act, to fulfill what must be fulfilled. Each action, though fleeting, is a bridge between freedom and responsibility, linking past and present, self and world. There is no endpoint. No need for a starting point. Only continuity. As long as I act from myself, this flow continues. I am already immersed within it.
I want to share a poem by Bian Zhilin from 1935 that has accompanied me since my early twenties: You stand on the bridge watching the scenery / Someone upstairs is watching you watching the scenery / The bright moon adorns your window / You adorn someone else’s dream. For me, the poem mirrors the experience of seeing and being seen, of action and being acted upon. Freedom and responsibility are not lived in isolation but in relationship.
Contact yang.jiuyi@proton.me
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Translation Paula Boslau
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