The question presumes a binary: puppet or puppeteer. A more resonant model is that of the musician and the instrument. You are not ‘free’ to make the cello sound like a trumpet. You are bound by its nature—the laws of physics, your biology, your past. Yet, within that constraint, an infinite variety of music is possible. Your ‘will’ is not the creation of the notes, but the quality of attention and intention you bring to playing the instrument of your existence. Freedom is not found in escaping constraints, but in mastering resonance within them.
