The Great Wall

As I was driving today, I saw a pick-up truck carrying an oversized bird’s cage in the back. And I thought, there goes another poor bird about to get its wings clipped. Then I realized how much I resemble that bird…

Growing up, we’re sheltered inside a cage and told of all the various things not to do, such as:
- don’t talk to strangers
- don’t eat meat
- don’t do drugs
- don’t have sex before marriage

How different would our lives be if we had no limits, no boundaries, no restrictions, no no’s? Would our lives be any more colorful if we had dared to draw outside the lines? I can pinpoint the exact barriers that stand in the way of my happiness – or at least, in the way of where I think I’ll find happiness.

I would love love love to move someplace far far away. Someplace quiet yet bustling with excitement; someplace new and exotic, but old and familiar. But something tells me, that any sentence beginning with “Mom, I want to move to another country…” will probably not be well received. And really, who am I kidding? I would be on the next flight to Newark after suffering from homesickness for a month.

Our lives are never truly lived as “freely” as we claim. We inadvertently refrain ourselves from doing many things that would probably be considered, “crossing the line.” My ex has expressed his desire to rekindle the relationship – but just one small glitch – his girlfriend, aka barrier #1. Meet barriers 2, 3, and 4: my family, friends, and dignity.

I want a job where my sole motivation for work is the work itself – not the money. But I remind myself that life gets expensive – especially with my uncontrollable fetish for all things food and accessories.

But if the Berlin wall can be broken down, then what’s holding up the walls built around us? I guess only after we break down these walls, can we truly break away…