shaking the bars

"I'm reminded," he begins, "of a famous cartoon. It's of a prisoner, shaking the bars, desperately trying to get out--but to his right and left, it's open, no bars." He pauses, allowing the image to sink in. "All the prisoner has to do is walk around. But still, he frantically shakes the bars. That's most of us. We feel completely stuck, trapped in our emotional cells, but there's a way out-as long as we're willing to see it."

I close my eyes and take a breath. I start by picturing the prison, a tiny cell with drab walls. I picture the metal bars, thick and gray and rusty. I picture myself in an orange jumpsuit, furiously shaking those bars, pleading for release. I picture my life in this tiny cell with nothing but...the prospect of a dismal, constrained future. I imagine screaming, "Get me out of here! Save me!" I envision myself looking to my right, then to my left, then doing a double take...as the realization hits me:

        You are your own jailer.

A cartoon, of all things, has taught me the secret of life.

- book excerpt from "Maybe you should talk to someone" by Lori Gottlieb

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