Tuesday, May 29, 2007

in search of golden cage

Some of us had already decided last night that Yogesh will be called Yogi hence forth. The contenders for his name were Yogi and Yo. Such arguments must have happened in the beginning when Yogi was first called by this name. Hence he was not amused with our debate. He interrupted us to give our discussion a more philosophical note. He introduced the theory of Golden Cage.

He said we are not happy with our jobs because we keep looking for a better opportunity. He argued that all we are searching for is not better opportunities but better cages. Our dream is the golden cage. A cage from where we are incapable to fly but are assured that we will get our daily supplies to survive.

I could relate his comments with my earlier thoughts on life being full of constraints. I believe that life is hinged with chains from all directions. Some chains are long, some short. You can wake up at 9 am if your office is from 10. You are constrained to wake on or before 9 am.

One day when I was chatting with Jeeves, he told me he wakes up only when he likes to. He is happy to claim this. Why? Because he is not constrained to wake up before a stipulated time. Take another example. Its a hot day and the fountain in front of you is inviting with its cool showers of water oozing out and spreading in thin air. You can't dip yourself in the fountain. Why? You are hinged by the etiquettes that the society has imposed on you. A freedom to dip and have a cool bath would have made you happier.

Life exists between the two phenomenas of Constraint and Freedom. Some things are hinged, some are free. Some people are more hinged, others are freer. Freedom brings happiness. Hinges bring limitations. Freedom is risky. Being hinged is being secure. Freedom is a hungry flight. Hinge is a golden cage. What would you choose?

A life less hinged is what I crave for.

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