The Birdcage

I remember in my younger days, it was fashionable for people to own birds such as Parakeets, Song Birds and Canaries. Gentle birds who could be domesticated. These birds through training and experience with man could entertain with songs or repeat human words. Their reward would be a safe place known as a birdcage and life sustaining food and water. Some of these birds would be so lucky to have their birdcage door left open. I would watch and wonder why some would stay on their perch, while some, the adventurous birds, would gladly jump from their perch to the birdcage doorway. Finally, some would then decide to attempt that which mankind could only dream of, fly. Some to a window curtain and not many but a few, out the open window and into a unknown world. I always wondered why some did and some didn't and what happened to those who left their learned world and flew beyond. I came to realize as I watched birds and people, in some respects there was not so much a difference to the very basics of life. I might seem crazy, but please read on.

My concern was for those birds, when granted freedom, decided to stay on their perch. To sit for hours and watch the world before them. Birds, like many people never knowing what a wide and wondrous world existed past that which they have come to accept. I also felt remorse for those birds who had the courage, though limited but courage nevertheless to leave the comfort of the perch and leap to the birdcage door. Like the perch, the door only provided those birds a platform to only continue the limited life they experienced on the perch. They continued to watch the familiar while safe and when approached would fly back to their perch and further safety. They never learned or expanded their experiences nor seemed to expect more in their life. Song and limited words were their accomplishments. The true leap of faith came to those birds willing to use those attributes which God had given to them. The ability to fly, to soar with wings that man has only has dreamed of to achieve great heights and experience life and freedom and for some a knowledge never expected.
People are like birds. Of course we do not live in birdcages but most live in a self-imposed, limiting cage which has restrained our thought processes to seek and grow further in life. For example, I just recently read a tweet where a person was talking about how they wish they could go back to their past. A past where they felt safe and secure and not to this day realizing their birdcage was not really safe. For someone could have left a window open to the winter cold, or humans , keepers of the birdcage might have failed to provide basic substance. No matter, in the soft reflected memories they now possess of protection and security was comforting and better than their current self-determined journey in life outside the cage . They don't realize they were the bird who leaped to the birdcage doorway and in a leap of faith tried to soar but found on this attempt at growth only a wall instead of window and now they are filled with paralyzing regret. My short message which I hope had a positive effect simply said "spread your wings and fly again, avoid the wall and find the window".

The longer I exist in this life cycle the more I have accepted that which in youth I would not. I do believe we all are here to experience everything possible. That old adage" that which does not take our lives away, only makes us stronger" is true. Our Supreme Being gave us wings and those wings for man is his ability to think and through the process of thinking, practice and evoke self-determination for directions in life. I say directions, as life does truly change and we with it. More importantly, the ability to decide to change direction when the headwinds become too strong to fly against. Or make the determination to work harder and smarter to achieve our mission in life. I believe the mind is the key to life and beyond. We understand the brain is the physical tool given to hold that portion of our essence which we use here on earth. A physical thing left behind with the rest when the body becomes useless and dies. Its that time between life and death we should be doing our investigation of our existence, the why and where we might be heading once our mission on earth is completed.

We are just beginning to explore our spiritual capabilities and some day we may find all of our experiences on the physical plane are there for us to find. To take those experiences and learn why we are who we are today and rid ourselves of the baggage we picked up along the way. To correct those previous trips we found ourselves flying into walls rather than out open windows and attain greater freedom to experience growth in life and spiritually.
I can envision a day where we through our spiritual aspects cure such ills as cancer, heart attacks and other killers of mankind and eliminate medicines with their endless side effects. Medicine done through spiritual means in a directed self-help manner. No one said it will be easy. Just like the bird in the birdcage, mankind has take the leap of faith and seek the door, the window and the fly to the heavens above to achieve such higher plane awareness. We already have had glimpses of miracles such as reincarnation life cycle visits through hypnosis and surgery without traditional tools or the ability to experience out of body travel. There are many more surprises for mankind as we push the envelope and this seeking of knowledge of the spirit is not against God, religion or even science. It is the purpose of man at his fullest.

In closing, I say be the bird who has sat on the perch and watched but now seeks much, much more. If you haven't, take the leap to the birdcage door, jump and soar through the window and seek the higher heavens. Those heavens are where we are supposed to be and not sitting on a perch with wings folded and useless and listening to the useless noise surrounding our current lives within the birdcage.

W. Richard Hoffman
Former Perch Sitter

Author's Bio: 

Researcher of mankind, his religions and spiritually. Owner of WRHoffman and Associates LLC specializing in Meditation and hypnosis for the purpose of finding inner knowledge of "The You" and previous life cycle experiences and their effect on people's current lives. Learning, knowing and growing is our motto for those interested in further understanding of their mission on earth.