A Tale of Boy and a Cat | On Relationships

There is a book called Playing Ball on
Running Water by David K. Reynolds.

The book has several short tales that
will make you think.

There is one about a boy and his cat.
A cat that he says he can't trust not to
run away, so he keeps him locked up in
a cage. As a result, the cat dies.

The cat is fed and petted, but that
wasn't enough. At the end, the child
so callously throws the cat away saying
that it is ok, as the cat never left
the cage - until HE wanted it to leave.

As I read this tale, it made me think
about some relationships in which
there is a lack of trust. Afraid that
the partner will leave, or do something
that is unwanted, there is a form of
imprisonment that occurs.

If that imprisonment lasts long enough,
it will kill off the person in the
relationship. It won't matter if the
person gets his/her superficial needs
met, when the biggest one of freedom
to be oneself isn't met, that is where
the death is. At the same time, their
partner gets "satisfaction" in knowing
that things were as they wanted them
to be - oblivious to the cost of being
in control, and not caring about how
those actions ultimately affect another.

In all fairness, things like this are
likely "rigged" from a person's
unconscious conditioning and beliefs.
However, there are many relationships
that are killed off in the process of
trying to protect them.

At a minimum, change can begin once
there is an awareness of an issue.
Without the awareness, time ticks on,
and so do the deadening behaviors
increasing the liklihood that the
caged person will succumb.

Something to consider, perhaps?