Escaping the Cage: Returning to Your Untamed Self
I remember a song that spoke to me so vividly when I was in high school. I’m not sure why it struck so deeply at the time, but I felt it in my bones. I felt trapped — as if my wings were meant to stretch and soar, but something invisible was clipping them. No one had done it to me. I had done it to myself.
As an introvert, I craved safety in the known, routine, and calm. But at the same time, there was this other side of me — wild, hungry for adventure and spontaneity. These two parts of me existed in tension, and I didn’t know how to live them both fully. So instead, I stayed where it felt safe. But safety can easily become a cage.
Sometimes we go about our lives so automatically that we don’t even realize we’ve stepped into a cage. We wake up one day and feel distant from who we once were. We feel dull, stuck, confused — not necessarily because something tragic has happened, but because of the slow erosion of vitality. Maybe it’s emotional numbness, burnout, disconnection, or just the habitual mundanity of daily life. We find ourselves pacing the cage — walking in circles, frustrated, without knowing what the next step is or how to break free.
The older and wiser I get, the more I realize: this cage is usually made in the mind.
No one forced us into it. No one locked the door. It was never even truly locked. We just forgot we had the key.
So how do we escape?
I believe it starts with where we place our focus. Are we staring at our own feet, counting the steps of our small circle? Are we whispering, "poor me,” while never lifting our eyes?
Or are we looking just beyond the bars — at the wide, wild, wonderful possibilities that are always waiting? Are we remembering that life is still out there, calling our name?
"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."
— President Russell M. Nelson
Seven Ways to Begin Unlocking the Cage:
1. Recognize the Cage
You can’t leave what you won’t admit you’re in. Identify what feels confining: Is it your routine? A mindset? Fear?
2. Disrupt the Pattern
Even small changes shake up stuck energy. Try a new walking path. Make art. Say yes to something spontaneous.
3. Return to the Senses
Get out of your head and into your body. Breathe deep. Touch the earth. Listen to birdsong. Presence is freedom.
4. Reclaim One Wild Act
What’s something that makes you feel untamed and alive? Do it. No excuses.
5. Write Your Escape Manifesto
Let your inner wild self write you a letter. What does she want to say? What is she tired of pretending?
6. Let Nature Be the Key
The desert. The mountains. The sky. Nature never forgets how to be free. Let it remind you.
7. Ask, “What Did I Trade for Comfort?”
Sometimes comfort keeps us stuck more than hardship. Ask yourself what you gave up in exchange for predictability.
“You weren’t made to pace. You were made to soar. And you don’t need permission to reclaim your wings. The world is waiting for the untamed you.
Welcome home.”
