Prison or Playground?

Just going for my walk here on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, looking out towards the skyline and the beautiful Delaware River.

I’ve been thinking about something I pondered two years ago. It was sometime in 2022. I looked out my window, and I saw the world, and it just looked like a big prison.

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The World as a Prison

All the perfect little cells that we sequester in—our condos, our apartments, these luxury high-rises, office buildings, and vehicles. I looked at the world, and it kind of looked stark and bleak.

What if the world is a prison?
And the city is just the perfect, perfectly designed prison cell? Just humor me for a minute here.

The Shift in Perspective

Now, when I look at the world, it’s just like a big playground.
I just want to go out there and play.
Maybe it’s just perspective. Maybe it’s how you think and look at things.

But I still see it this way sometimes. I can look at the world and feel like it’s daunting or just this big prison planet or something.

Holding the Key

Here’s the thing:
What if you had the key?

• You had the ability to unlock the door to the cell.
• You had the ability to unshackle yourself.
• You had the ability to free your mind, your body, and your spirit.

If you had the keys and you knew that you were a prisoner, wouldn’t you want to use them?

The Question

So, what stops us?
Is it fear?
Is it comfort in routine?
Is it that we don’t even believe the key exists?

The choice is ours. The bridge between prison and playground exists. Maybe all it takes is stepping out onto it.