The illusion is very strong, isn’t it? 

The fact is, we make decisions and we make choices every day. Even if those decisions and choices are ultimately not free, we are consciously unaware of the underlying decision-making processes. The definition that works for me in a practical sense is the one I stated earlier: “awareness of congruency between desire for action and action itself”.

There is no apathy or victimhood resulting from the understanding that nothing is free. We are all part of and actively participate in a larger process – the mysterious unfolding of a very beautiful universe. The petals of a rose aren’t free, yet they participate in the creation of the bloom. So it is with us.

It is the participation – the participation in the divine mystery, and the understanding that I am a part of that mystery – that gives me joy.