Prisoner. Of this modern life, this complex way, a web of stress, pressure and drive. You run, racing forward, oblivious to the present and too forgetful of a past you should learn from. What use is success when you become suffocated by it? Caught in the chase, always yearning for more, you are never satisfied.
Each day, body rousing weary to a blearing alarm, tugging you from peaceful slumber that has lasted for too little. Dragging you, feet stumbling, whipping you forth with the burden of sorrows and worries, if only you could see they were irrational.
Alone, in exile from fellows, you strive to cut above the rest. In this ruthless race, you regard those close with suspicion and fear. Your friends are your rivals, competitors, just waiting for you to weaken, to let the guard down, reveal your secret.
But prisoner, what secret is yours? It is not the golden treasure you think, not the shining dream of glory, not the heavenly escape from hell on earth. It is nothing but a chain, an empty promise, a brutal spear weakening you from the core, destroying all you love, you hope, you wish for.
Abandon it. Escape. From this false vision, this broken ambition, this ruinous goal. Break away from the bars holding you to a barren future; a future of ruin where you will live forever lacking in the satisfaction you desire, the passion you crave and the beauty you wish for. It’s nothing but a con, tugging you deeper into the sands, pulling you under and into an inescapable darkness laced with regret and fear.
Release, let it all go. Abandon the anxiety, the rush to achieve, the burn for dollar and all things permanent. For the transient beauty of life will pass you by all too soon; speeding along, the boat will sail. Before you know, you’ll be left on the shore of an island, rapidly drowning beneath an incoming tide. Galloping across, the waves will sweep you from the fragile sanctuary you thought you’d created, that would last forever as a fortress strong. But devoid of the light to fuel your crops, the joy that inspires innovation and creativity, even the most fortified walls will crumble.
Prisoner, within your walls and outside, the sea surrounds you and keeps you hostage.
So run, run while you can, while you still have the chance.
Then stop. Stop once you’re free. Delight in the moment before a new life takes you a prisoner once more.