Circus Humans?
I once heard the story of a grown bear that lived in a cage and
travelled with a circus ever since he was a small cub. The bear spent
everyday of his life pacing back and forth in his cage while countless
spectators looked on. When the bear-keepers were not looking, some of
the spectators would poke the bear with sharp sticks. Sometimes they
would throw pieces of food filled with broken glass into the cage.
When the great bear ate what he thought was a wonderful treat, the
broken glass would cut the inside of his throat and stomach.
One day a wealthy animal-lover visited the circus and saw the harmful
acts committed against the bear. Because he felt great compassion for
animals he approached the circus about purchasing the bear. He
explained that he would take the bear and place him in a large open
area. In this area the bear would have cool pools of water to play in
and verdant fields to run. The circus agreed to sell the bear to the
man and set up a delivery date.
When the day arrived for the bear to be delivered, everyone was
anxious to see what would happen when the door of the cage was opened
for the first time. To everyone's amazement, when the cage was opened,
the bear did what he spent every day of his life doing. He simply
paced back and forth the length of the cage. The bear didn't even seem
to care that the cage door was open. Finally, the bear-keepers got the
bear outside the cage and rolled it away.
The bear looked around at his beautiful new home. He looked at the
cool pools of water and the lush green pastures. Then to everyone's
surprise and disappointment, the bear began his pacing. Back and forth
he would go, as in an imaginary cage. Eventually he had to be put to
sleep because he simply could not function in his beautiful new
surroundings.
This is the powerful way we become slaves to our past, to our habits.
This is how many of us, not just circus animals, learn to accept that there is nothing better for us. Even when it's staring us in the face.
To a large degree, our history and past experience determine the
person we are today. Yes, we are the result of upbringing, of
education, of constraining social norms. But that's no excuse for
accepting a routine, meaningless lifestyle. That's no excuse for not
being the person you want to be.
Many of us have responsibilities towards others - our families and
loved ones. Some of us put up with less than desirable conditions
because of those obligations. But how many of those obligations are
really excuses for not making things better?
In a world of possibilities, are you pacing the length of your
imaginary cage?
