The Problem of Free Will

The act of free will is represented beautifully by the metaphor of breathing. Where is free will when you are breathing? When you are not paying attention, it is happening to you. When you are paying attention, you're doing it.

So which is it? Are we free to control, and act upon, our world in any manner we see fit? Or are we bound, hopelessly, to our situation and circumstances, forever dominated by the many laws and forces of the infinite universe?

The answer lies in the breath.

If the conscious 'do-er' is held accountable to meticulously execute each breath, there is anxiety and exhaustion. On the other hand, if the breathing only occurs spontaneously (that is to say to never paid attention to), we would not be able to do such things as speak, swim (underwater), whistle, play an instrument, and even drink out of straws.

But, for the breath to function, for life to exist, both must be present. Free will and determinism, two sides of one reality, forever playing off of each other, dancing the universe into existence.

And, when exposed for what free will really is, we see that what we call OUR free will is really just what the Universe is doing.