During my early morning walks, my heart delights at the marbled godwit dancing its breakfast tango with the ocean. I revel at the soaring wingspan of silent pelicans cresting the waves. The seagulls squaking make me laugh out loud. I love seeing these air borne creatures and the different ways they kiss the sky. They carry my breath on their wings.
But today I thought of their caged companions. Captured birds have always made me sad ~ An animal built to glide through the skies, sentenced to a life in a small cell, often in solitary confinement, unable to live its true nature, to spread its wings and soar.
We don’t cage birds because we want to be cruel. We do it because we love them, and we want to be close to that which we love. We want to possess that which we love. But that desire to possess is not an expression of love. We want to possess it so we can control it. Love makes us feel vulnerable. Control makes us feel safe. Our actions are always motivated by either fear or love. Our desire to control comes from fear.
I apply this thinking to my own life and wonder what aspect am I domesticating that wants to be wild.
- Have I confused my love for what is with an unconscious fear of change?
- Am I playing it safe, fearing how great it could really be?
- What am I caging in my life, afraid to let it soar?
I love my husband and our relationship, so I often ask myself – is an unconscious fear of risking what we have keeping us from being what we could be?
Consider this:
Is there a part of your life, or a part of yourself that you control, afraid to let it be wild and free?
Are you staying in a less than fabulous job or a relationship because it feels safe, afraid of what the unknown might hold?
When love would have you risk it all, are you playing it safe in your gilded cage?