Boundaries: A Caged Illusion.
All her life, she was free yet trapped in a cage, the door of which she thought would slam shut if she tried to move out. The door wasn’t closed after all, but for her, moving towards her dreams could close those doors forever. She trapped herself inside that cage fearing that someone/something else would do it to her.
She was different. She wasn’t the one who believed in glitters but was the one who appreciated the creation of sawdust which made a chair look better, for she believed that improvisation was the key to success. She was a strongly opinionated person who would stand by her opinions if she felt she was right, but she wasn’t a vocally opinionated person- she would do everything only in her head. Not because she thought she might be wrong, but because she thought “what if” her opinions didn’t match with others’, what if someone objected her thinking. So she learnt to keep her thoughts to herself. The fear of the slamming door also repressed her voice.
She knew she was the square peg which could never fit into the readymade round holes of this world, but she failed to understand that she wasn’t meant to fit into a niche of the society. She didn’t understand that her square was a raised platform- it wasn’t meant to rest inside a hole but to face the harsh light with valour. So, she tried to trim the corners of her square to ‘fit in’ the round hole but ended up with a square with rounded corners.
When she reluctantly but quietly agreed with the stereotypes, she didn’t know that she was building the golden rods of her golden cage. When she contemplated the idea of abandoning her dreams to “fit in”, she unknowingly built the master lock- the lock which once used could be unlocked by none, not even by the maker herself for some things can never be undone. A cage will still be a cage even if it is made out of gold or is completely bejewelled.
But she realized that she didn’t have the courage to live her life in the captivity she despised the most. She realized that even if she didn’t have wings to take a flight and swiftly escape the slamming door, she had her own pair of strong yet beautiful legs. She then gathered the courage to move out- she took one step at a time slowly and with immense care, each time checking if the door was still open. Then she took the giant leap of faith. Yes! She risked her existence. But no one came to shut her in, no one pushed her inside. She was free now. FREE TO FOLLOW HER DREAMS.
That was when she finally realized that the cage was nothing but a holographic mirage created by her own mind. She understood that if you have self-limiting beliefs, you will subconsciously build a closed boundary around yourself- a boundary which will not protect you from negative junks because no architectural structure (even if it is imaginary) would like to lose an inhabitant.
She realized that when you wake up to acknowledge the wonderful person you are, you’ll find that the key to the lock of your cage was in your own pocket from the very first moment you put yourself into it.
She was different. She wasn’t the one who believed in glitters but was the one who appreciated the creation of sawdust which made a chair look better, for she believed that improvisation was the key to success. She was a strongly opinionated person who would stand by her opinions if she felt she was right, but she wasn’t a vocally opinionated person- she would do everything only in her head. Not because she thought she might be wrong, but because she thought “what if” her opinions didn’t match with others’, what if someone objected her thinking. So she learnt to keep her thoughts to herself. The fear of the slamming door also repressed her voice.
She knew she was the square peg which could never fit into the readymade round holes of this world, but she failed to understand that she wasn’t meant to fit into a niche of the society. She didn’t understand that her square was a raised platform- it wasn’t meant to rest inside a hole but to face the harsh light with valour. So, she tried to trim the corners of her square to ‘fit in’ the round hole but ended up with a square with rounded corners.
When she reluctantly but quietly agreed with the stereotypes, she didn’t know that she was building the golden rods of her golden cage. When she contemplated the idea of abandoning her dreams to “fit in”, she unknowingly built the master lock- the lock which once used could be unlocked by none, not even by the maker herself for some things can never be undone. A cage will still be a cage even if it is made out of gold or is completely bejewelled.
But she realized that she didn’t have the courage to live her life in the captivity she despised the most. She realized that even if she didn’t have wings to take a flight and swiftly escape the slamming door, she had her own pair of strong yet beautiful legs. She then gathered the courage to move out- she took one step at a time slowly and with immense care, each time checking if the door was still open. Then she took the giant leap of faith. Yes! She risked her existence. But no one came to shut her in, no one pushed her inside. She was free now. FREE TO FOLLOW HER DREAMS.
That was when she finally realized that the cage was nothing but a holographic mirage created by her own mind. She understood that if you have self-limiting beliefs, you will subconsciously build a closed boundary around yourself- a boundary which will not protect you from negative junks because no architectural structure (even if it is imaginary) would like to lose an inhabitant.
She realized that when you wake up to acknowledge the wonderful person you are, you’ll find that the key to the lock of your cage was in your own pocket from the very first moment you put yourself into it.
Lovely💞
ReplyDeleteThis is so me... I could identify myself with the girl. I'm so different that I keep stuggling to "fit in" to please the ppl in my life.
ReplyDeleteTry reading a novel by Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Means a lot ma'am :) And I'll try and get that book soon.. :)
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