The Cage

Pic a golden cage is still just a cage

Got time for a new idea in blogging?  I have a triplet of posts that I want you to read. 

The first one is a poem/prose from my blog site The Cage.

And then, from Morning Notes you’ll find this – The Cage – a post offering hope and encouragement.

And finally, from Internet Church – we find When the Cage Door Opens – offering hope from God’s word.  I liked this idea, thanks to Seth Godin’s book What to Do When It’s Your Turn.  The basic idea is Seth’s, but wrapped in my words, and inspiration from The Bible in Internet Church.

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I hope you read all three.  I especially hope you share at least one of them with someone who might feel caught in some kind of trap and need to find an escape.  Enjoy.

Behold the cage.  It is a simple thing, really.  When I was a kid we had a parakeet in a cage.  It was designed to keep him in – to limit him.  After all, we didn’t want parakeet poop all over the house now, did we? 

And I think, sometimes, we adults continually seek out our own cages.  You see, a cage is a nifty place for us to hide in; it can become a place to go to when we want to avoid making some hard choices.  A cage can be a safe place if one wants to avoid obligations … and opportunities. 

Ah … are you tuning in to where I’m going here?

Without a cage, we get to choose, make decisions, go and explore, visit new vistas.  And we are responsible for those decisions, aren’t we? 

A cage is no good if it has nothing to trap. 

Let me say that more boldly …

A CAGE IS NO GOOD

IF IT HAS

NOTHING TO TRAP!

And the worst thing about cages … they can take away our freedom.

So, how is cage-life treating you?

Our lives can be a cage.

And so can these …

Alcohol and drugs

Religion and denominations

Internet and social media

Close-minded ideas

Fashion trends

Jobs that are a complete mismatch

So … if nothing else, let us – you and me – do a bit of examining the cages we’ve built for ourselves. 

We may find the key that opens some of these cages and set ourselves free. 

Maybe … perhaps!

Now wouldn’t that be something?

Morning Notes Blog Site

Words of Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

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Killing Nigel

I must make a confession.  I have committed murder.  Shock and awe. 

I have killed Nigel, otherwise known as Negative Nigel.

He is mean and cruel.  He is a no-good, low-life, louse.  He robs.  He steals.  He profanes.  He derails plans.  He is no good I tell you … no good at all.

And to top it all off, Negative Nigel has about ninety-nine lives.  In my years of living I have probably already killed Nigel at least a dozen times, yet every time he comes back from the dead to do his dastardly deeds.

Perhaps you’ve met your own version of Negative Nigel.  His voice sounds something like this …

“You can’t do that.”

“Nobody will buy it or like it.”

“Are you crazy.  It will never work.”

“That’s gonna cost a fortune.”  

“But you’re just a small person, a small thinker, a nobody.”

“They will laugh you out of town.”

“They will throw stones at your work.”

“That kind of book won’t sell.”

“You’re not made to do that kind of work.”

“You’ll lose your shirt.”

“You’ll cut your fingers off with that saw.”

“But you’ve had so many failures before.  Why fail one more time?”

You see what I mean.  I’ve got to kill Nigel before he kills me.

Every good idea I’ve ever had, Nigel comes along and tries to talk me out of it.  He continually whispers in my ear that I can’t do something.  He throws up roadblocks and tries to keep me from certain roads.

Well, Nigel. Your days are numbered once

again.   I’ve got ideas, plans, dreams, hopes, ambitions.  I can see my future clearly and I’m far from over the hill.  I’m not near death.  I’m not even sick, except maybe sick of your sniveling remarks.  Nigel, you are a whiner, a complainer, a negative ninny, and a no-good louse.

GO AWAY NIGEL!

  

For all of us who have struggled with a nemesis like Nigel, there is hope.  There is relief.  There is an answer.

And the answer is … belief, faith, hope, courage, determination.

You, like me, may have to do battle with your Nigel every day, or at least every week, and the good news is … the Nigel’s of this world can be conquered. 

Do you believe?

~Do you believe in your dreams enough to do them in spite of the negative thoughts that plague you?

~Do you believe in YOU enough to overcome the voices that say ‘don’t try, don’t go there, don’t do that, it’s already been done before’?

Belief is the only antidote to overcoming the Negative Nigel’s in this world. 

~Belief that YOU are capable.

~Belief that YOU are worthy.

~Belief that YOUR dreams matter.

Go ahead … take a shot at Nigel. 

Morning Notes Blog Site

Words of Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time