The Golden Cage

There was ones a bird, who was entrapped. She lived in a Golden Cage. The cage had all the best facilities, it was pretty, she was given good food & had plenty of water. To any body on the outside, it seemed that the bird was leading the best of lives in the beautiful Golden Cage.

But the bird was not happy. She knew what the people on the outside thought of her life. It was only her heart that knew the truth. That she yearned for the free skies. She did not desire the Golden Cage. A cage however nice & comfortable, did not provide the freedom, the free air, the sense of independence that she longed for. She would often dream of flying across the clear blue skies, of finding her own food & living in the wide world, but her dreams were always broken when she woke up to face the bitter realities of her life, entrapped in the those four golden walls. Who would ever believe her that whether the walls were made of gold or copper, it still was a cage & the sense of being trapped in any, was just as bad.

This story holds true for many of us as well. We although being humans, are often entrapped in various Golden Cages & although the world may envy our position, it is only the caged bird, who is aware of the miseries of her life within the cage. Many of us yearn for the flight across the clear blue skies, to live a life of freedom, when the reins of our life are in our hands, instead of somebody else controlling us.

When a human is made to lead a life by the rules of others, he can either accept his fate & choose the golden cage & make his peace with it. Or, he can find a way to get out of that cage.He may get hurt in the process of escape, but the air will heal his wounds & the Sun will show him the path which he can choose & lead his life in a better way, rather than repenting later & thinking,"If...".

My Big Problem

When I was in school, I was always scared of the exams. They were the biggest ghosts that would haunt me. I always dreaded those 2 weeks when I would have to handle the biggest troubles of my life, writing answers to so many questions, in such a less time. My parents always pushed me for performing better & scoring very good marks. So revealing my report card to them at the end of the year was also a big problem. At that time in my life, I could not think any bigger issue which I would have to face in life again, than getting good marks in the Final Exams.

When I reached High School, the biggest trouble for me then was to clear the Board Examinations & score good marks. I could not imagine my fate if I failed in the exams. I knew my life would end if I did not pass the examinations.

After school, my life was hanging on the thread of getting admission in a good college of my interest, out of my hometown. I had understood by then that getting out of the four walls of my house was the only way to survive as I grew up. I could not imagine a bigger problem than that at the end of my school life.

These are just a few examples of how at different levels of our life, our problems seem to be the biggest. One cannot think of a bigger dilemma than the one they are facing currently. One feels that the whole world would come crashing down if those issues are not handled well & one doesn’t find the right solution to them.

However, when you later look at the same thing, you realize that those troubles were really small, in comparison to the big picture. You then realize that an examination in school is not the biggest problem in life. That having being relocated to a remote city is not the worst thing that could have happened to you.

Probably landing a good job may seem to be the only way to lead a good life, but it may not really give you the ultimate solution to all your problems. At the next step, one may come across an even bigger issue, which might seem to be the biggest problem you have ever faced in life till date. 

I thus feel that although our current crisis seems to be the biggest difficulties we have ever faced till date, one should try to look at the larger picture of life and other troubles which are even bigger than yours. If the problems of your life seem to be too large, try to think of the troubles that the prime minister of the nation has to face in order to run it smoothly.