Captivity

Captivity is the burden of humanity, the ropes binding ideas to reality. Captivity is more than a jail cell; it is all of life. Captivity is the cage of a bird or the kennel of a dog. Captivity is the chains that secure Prometheus to his rock. Captivity keeps us from following our dreams.

Captivity is the food we eat, determining our size, and the clothes we wear, determining our appearance. We walk in the shoes of captivity. Captivity tempts us to choose bad over good.

Captivity is the obsession society has with celebrities, alcohol, drugs, passion. Captivity is the reluctance to tear away from the television or Internet.

Captivity knows there is freedom on the other side of the door, but a key is not available. Captivity is fear; fear of bugs, fear of storms, fear of loneliness, fear of people. Captivity is a dark room with no nightlight or moon to shine the light of hope. Captivity is the heart that has been broken and damaged irreparably.

Captivity is the bonds we have with relatives and friends. We feel so obligated to love them that we forget ourselves. Captivity is the awkward conversation with a stranger. Captivity is having a crush on someone else’s date.

Captivity is the bird whose wings have been clipped. Captivity is the lost voice of a singer, the sprain of a dancer, the paralysis of an athlete, the diabetes of a competitive eater, the wrinkles of a model. Captivity is having your dreams crushed time after time. Captivity is the reluctance to try again, in fear that you will fail again.

Captivity is the feeling of helplessness when two cars are about to crash. Captivity is the realization that nothing can change a first impression. Captivity is the sudden consciousness that you really don’t like your friends.

Captivity is a road trip with the whole family. Captivity is being stuck on a full elevator during flu season. Captivity is arriving home after a shopping trip and realizing the security lock is still attached to a sweater. Captivity is sitting at a computer at midnight trying to come up with a thousand words.

Captivity is the tendency of an English teacher to correct a student’s grammar. Captivity is the good book that is impossible to put down or the horrible book that a report is due on tomorrow. Captivity is the show that you can never miss or the Facebook that must always be updated.

Captivity is poverty. No money to travel, to eat at nice restaurants, to buy designer clothes, to go to a concert, to go to college. Captivity is sickness on the first day of spring. Captivity is the lack of talent and lack of motivation to cultivate talent. Pressure to succeed is captivity.

Captivity is hatred, infatuation, zeal, passivity. All we feel, all we are.
However, the opposite of captivity is freedom, and, as we all know, opposites attract.