It was a beautiful sunny morning, neither too hot nor humid. I sat in my living room with my coffee and engaged with a wonderful book.

Suddenly, I heard a quick wing flapping noise by the window. A little bird was between the window screen and curtain. He was flapping his wings against the screen in terror.

I was dumbfounded to find he was inside the house. The window screen was shut! 

It took me quite awhile to make sure he stayed between the curtain and the screen and calm down. I did not want to damage his wings while I tried to open the window screen for him to get out. I stood in front of the window holding  the curtain on both sides to trap him until he was no longer flapping his wings, then I moved to open the screen. As soon as there was a small opening in the screen, he rushed out.

I sat in my chair and looked out the window for a long time.

It was a beautiful day, I was happy to be inside with my book, I did not want to go out. I would stay inside the whole day. Why do I cage myself in my own little world? Why don’t I want to fly away like the little bird? Am I really a loner? Why do I stay inside the house without feeling imprisoned? Why do I come back to this empty house day after day?

I can go to any chosen place on this earth literally, but, I stay. I think it’s the freedom of choice, the freedom of living my own life, the freedom of being my own boss that makes me stay. I am not caged in because I can walk away anytime if I want to.

The trapped bird does not have the luxury of flying away without help, but I do. The privilege of my own freedom makes me stay. How ironic!