Autonomy for Beginners

As a child, I was incredibly fortunate. While regiment certainly existed in school and in my teenage jobs, I was blessed with ample time – vast stretches of freedom to simply explore, to be. This kind of liberty, this space for unstructured discovery, is profoundly difficult to articulate to someone who has never known it. And now, we find ourselves in a world where nearly every aspect of our lives appears to be precisely regimented.

The very idea of ‘being emergent’ feels utterly foreign. Even worse, the further we drift from this innate capacity for emergence, the more challenging it becomes to tap into its inherent power. Our deepest life experiences, the very fabric of who we become, are so often shaped by trial and error. But what happens when the opportunities for trial diminish? No trial, no error, no experience. This, I fear, is precisely where we have landed.

Yet, here is the profound truth: each one of us possesses the innate power to reclaim this. The capacity for freedom, for authentic exploration, resides within. The challenge, however, is simply not knowing where to start. This realization, this quiet urgency, inspired me to develop the concept of Autonomy for Beginners.

Why ‘beginners’? Because we must re-learn. We must patiently teach ourselves how to allow those things that are deeply instinctive to resurface. As children, we engaged in this spontaneous exploration all the time. So, how did we lose it? It’s a complex tapestry, but largely, we were subtly, or overtly, conditioned to believe we were not ‘allowed’ to explore in such an uninhibited fashion. Yet, this very capacity is essential for us to truly thrive as human beings. It’s a core necessity, not a luxury.

I am currently compiling an eLearning program on this vital subject. If the thought of reclaiming your inherent autonomy, of re-learning to connect with that instinctive, emergent part of yourself resonates with you, I invite you to sign up for my postings on ‘being autonomous,’ among other related topics.