Who has trapped you?

"Life is a jail" is a cliched phrase that we keep hearing. Hasn't that phrase trapped us more? Some people just succumb to this and say "this is my destiny" and some people fight it saying "I am strong and can break the jail". And both get tired eventually and feel more trapped. But what is all this about being trapped? Even though we feel we are in jail, don't we have everything required to live inside the jail? What is that hand desperately reaching out for? Is the bread (nourishment) inside or outside? 

When I first saw this picture, I wondered whether the bread is in or out. It has been 6 months since I saw this picture and even today it makes me wonder about the inside and outside mystery. Further analysis of the picture says that since the shadow is falling on the bread, it may be outside and the person inside a room. Then my mind says, maybe the bread is inside the room and the person is standing outside. Uffff... there is no end to this analysis. But do I need to solve this mystery? How would that help? Would I be out of the trap if I solve the mystery? 

Let me share a very funny but life-changing incident that happened today with my son (he is 15). I drop him at school every day in the morning and during the drive a week back, I was sharing about the green headlights that the vehicles were projecting during the day. He said, "Amma, that's not green, that's white". I said, "No, that's green. How can that be white? Your color sense is gone haywire". My son went on saying white, and I went on saying green. Then I thought that he is being stubborn and righteous. But I had no energy to argue with him and so became silent. This happened for the next 2 days too.

Today, when we were driving, I also saw the lights as white and wondered what had changed. I realized that I was not wearing my goggles 😀. The lights were looking green to me since I was wearing my driving goggles. Oh my goodness... I realized, all this time it was I who was being stubborn and righteous, not my son. I was trapped inside the jail of my goggles which I had forgotten that I was wearing. And I shared this with my son and really understood the patience he showed in accepting my righteousness. 

This incident is funny but thought-provoking and deep-rooted. I realized the degree to which I have jailed and trapped myself inside these views, beliefs, and perceptions. That awareness brought relief to me.

We are anyways trapped inside the body that we possess. That's a pre-requisite to living on this planet right? And we are born into a culture and religion our parents belong to and the country our community belongs to. And so we grow up with those beliefs, values, and morals of those people around us. We don't even realize when we start to own up those beliefs and values as our own, as if we (I) made them. And we fight and break our relationships to defend those beliefs. We forget humanity to prove our beliefs are right. Absurd isn't it?

But this is the jail we have put ourselves into as human beings and it's not wrong. And we don't need to even fight to come out of that jail. All that is needed is to become aware that those views and beliefs are the specs and goggles that we are wearing and that can be removed. Just like I became aware of my goggles and why the lights were looking green. Isn't this funny and profound? 

A bright day and life to all..........