An Invincible Summer

Cages

Religion, politics and chemical addiction are small, lonely cages people build to insulate themselves from personal growth and genuine loving relationships with God, their fellow humans and the natural world. Occupants spend their whole lives reinforcing the encompassing walls with memorized rhetoric and denial and lies, and they have no idea how much sweeter life is outside the cage. These cells are indestructible from the outside: each one is unique and can only be broken by the person who constructed it around himself. Which hardly ever happens, because the longer you live in your cage, the more the people outside it look like your enemies. Even if — no, ESPECIALLY if they love you and want to help you regain your health and freedom.

Ironically, most occupants think of the cage itself as their “freedom.” I’m still trying to wrap my mind around that concept.

I think I have more to say on this subject, but it’ll have to wait until I have more time. Gainful employment is wreaking havoc on my writing ops!

In Which Elizabeth’s Tough Cookie Status Is Reinstated

So. That “minor flesh wound” turned out to be Quite A Bit deeper than it looked. As in, into the muscle of Elizabeth’s hand. She’s an extremely fast healer, but almost a week later it still looks like this:

Considering that it was inflicted by the dull corner of a metal ladder, this must have been crazy painful.

So for the record: totally crumble-worthy. Figured it deserved to be noted publicly, lest my original post tarnish her hard-won Tough Cookie reputation.