Issue 8, January 2009

Things that seem out of reach are goals to strive for. Taboos often are more tantalizing because they are supposed to be out of reach. For me right now, it’s freedom that’s out of reach, yet it remains my goal. It remains my hope.

I'm incarcerated, an unnatural condition that provides fresh empathy for animals in zoos. Actually, prisons are the only zoos where the incompetence of the keepers is blamed on the residents.

I realize there are worse prisons, worse situations; I could be imprisoned within my own body by Lou Gehrig’s disease. This experience has led to all sorts of insights, and provided spiritual growth. Doesn't mean I don't want out.

When I was a toddler, my mother put me in a playpen. Unlike today’s playpens of nylon mesh sides, this 1950’s model had wooden bars. I worked the bars loose and escaped. When the bars were glued tight, I lift ed the floor mat and escaped. When my father nailed the mat down, I climbed over the top. I didn't like the “security” restrictions. I didn't like being barred in. Even the afternoon shadows thrown by the window blinds made me uneasy. Maybe this was pre-cognitive of prison.

Perfection is something that is out of reach. Still it is an admirable goal. We can strive for “impossible” goals because we are spiritual beings of faith and hope.

I'm innocent of my convicted crime, or any felony. Realistically I might never get out. My consciousness, never out of reach, has risen while contact with family, friends, and Nature herself is largely out of reach.

I believe that society at large is out of reach and out of touch with reality, from self-inflicted tunnel vision. The blinders we wear! If only we would reach to take them off . We can reach the solutions to the problems of our fellow creatures, whether in prison, next door, or around the globe.