Life in Captivity

Think Tank #79

Why is it so easy for other animals to be happy?

You ever find yourself jealous of a bird for being able to just relax and fly, take in the scenery, without a care in the world? Or a turtle, sitting on a rock soaking in the sun?

You ever find yourself jealous of an animal at the zoo?

We live safe lives. Probably. If you don’t, tell me your secret. The rest of us go to the same place every day to earn our same paycheck, then go back to our same home and do the same thing to get ready to wake up at the same time the next day.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably contemplated leaving it all behind at some point. Moving somewhere far away, working little jobs just to get by, quitting those jobs for a couple weeks off in between when you can swing it, then going somewhere else.

You shake the idea out of your mind. What about retirement? And health insurance? And what if you can’t find those jobs? You might have to miss a meal. Bye bye restaurants and cushy hotel rooms. Where are you going to live? Nah, not for you. It’s too risky.

We make the choice to sacrifice our freedom for comfort. Birds have to fight for their meal every day. We don’t have to worry about where our breakfast is coming from.

Life is full of tradeoffs. You decide which sounds better.

You’re never stuck, though. Not actually.