Duty Bound not to be Free.

I haven’t taken my dictionary and looked up a word for, well ….., a very long time.

In fact… hang on…. yep, here it is….. March 11th.

That’s almost 9 months!!

So today I’m going to look up two words – duty and priority.

My dictionary is a hefty Collins English – Dictionary and Thesaurus; it’s blue, hard back but the front cover is loose – I tried to repair it some years back but now the sticky tape isn’t, and the front cover is loose.

There is a dried pomegranate juice stain on the back cover.

I need to look up duty and priority because I was thinking about freedom and …..

Hang on, yep; I’d better look up freedom too.

Because it’s Monday, the week stretching ahead of me should be one of clear uninterrupted freedom and yet…

Yet.

So I started to ask the question “where lies my duty” and “where lies my priority?”

And then I asked, “are they the same?”

Then I asked, “What’s the difference?”

And that I when I decided I needed to pick up my dictionary.

Clearly I have way too much time on my hands!

Well, here is what it tells me…

Duty - Task or action that a person is bound to perform for moral or legal reasons, the force that binds one morally or legally to one’s obligations, a job or service allocated.

Hmmm, I might have to look up obligations too.

Ok, I have, it says the same – so clearly obligations and duties in my dictionary are the equal.

Exciting!

Time now to look up….

Priority - the condition of being prior.

What?

Hang on… there’s more..

Priority (continued) – something given specified attention.

Ah! Ha!!

My priority is clearly a victim of my duty!

Which brings us to ……

Freedom – hmmm, it’s a big section….. personal liberty as from slavery, serfdom etc..

Well, that’s not my case .. hang on … ok, number 7 – the power or liberty to order one’s own actions.

Bummer.