Lost in Oz...

I have been thinking this week about the shackles that bind us to our past, and how difficult it can be to break them open and run free from the things that keep us rooted in our previous experiences.

I imagine most people, when hearing the term shackle, think of being held captive in slavery.  I don't mean to diminish their experience or their pain, but I think there are other shackles that hold us as firmly in place as the metal cuffs placed on the wrists of the runaways seeking the freedom to live life on their own terms.  The fact that the freed slaves often chose to remain where they were speaks to the difficulty of overcoming our own expectations as eloquently as any words I could ever find.  Casting away what we know and moving freely into whatever the future holds for us is always complicated, and easily resisted.