There are days that I wake up, sit myself up against my wall
and spend some time watching my salamander explore his cage. After a few
minutes I feel some sort of connection with Zenna. I begin to sympathize with
her, yet she’s just a salamander… In fact, some of you might say that she is
better off in that cage than being out in the wild. I beg to differ.
I’ll admit that she has cleaner water, more food
availability, absolutely no predators, and plenty of space to roam around. Yet,
her life is completely in the hands of someone other than her own. Her freedom
is gone. Her life confined by four invisible walls. Maybe she has everything
she wants, but without the freedom to do what she wants, her life is left
uncompleted.
Now, I realize she is just a salamander. These feelings that
I receive, transcendent of her, don’t even cross her mind. Yet, they are still
produced. Why would I feel this way when I have given her everything she has
ever needed? In the brief time that I sit, watching her clime the falls or hide
away in her rock cave, It becomes clear that these feelings are none but my
own.
Sometimes I feel that even though I have everything I need at the moment, my life is
incomplete; in other words, my life is not my own. We live in a world
surrounded by these invisible walls, whether they are social or personal. They
ultimately have control over our thoughts and actions and even determine the fate of our lives. So how do we gain
control of our life? How do we break these walls and free ourselves to be who
we really are? This question can only be answered by you and no one else.
I believe we all need to look deep inside ourselves to find
what is real and what is not. We must not fear the abstract or obscure. We must
be free to express our feelings and emotions eve against other’s disapproval.
Zenna may only be a salamander, but I see the angst with
every press against those walls. With every push I see life making way for
improvement and betterment. We can learn a lot from all of nature’s wonders,
but only if we are willing.
Jordy
