I once heard that if you keep an animal locked up in a cage for a long period of time and then one day you just open the door, many times the animal—although free to leave—will choose to stay within the confines of that cage.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I can relate to that. No one has ever literally locked me away in a cage. Though some may have wanted to… But I realize that from time to time, I have placed myself in one. I have allowed myself to feel imprisoned by my circumstances and although the door to my self-constructed “cage” stands WIDE open, all too often I have chosen to stay curled up inside.

Recently I was reminded that life is not merely a series of things that happen to us, as though we are endless victims of circumstance. But rather LIFE is whatever we choose to make it. It is something to grab on to while experiencing ALL the freedoms that truly belong to me…

Freedom to be happy in any and all conditions. Freedom to reach for the stars. Freedom to strive for everything I’ve ever wanted rather than merely accepting the view from between the black bars of a cage that I constructed all by myself.

Just in case I forget to be happy,
I want to remember that I have a choice. 

Just in case I forget what I’m saying,
I want to remember that I have a voice. 

Just in case I forget where I’m going,
I want to remember that I hold the map. 

Just in case I forget to walk freely,
I want to remember life isn’t a trap.