Chinese Finger Cuffs

Remember those "Chinese finger cuffs" that are made of cheap dyed fiberous material? You stick your fingers in and pull and pull and pull but they just get tighter? Loosen up and they go back to their normal size and your fingers easily slip out. A lot of cultural norms, stereotypes and expectations are like that. I hear all sorts of things all the time "I have to drive X" or "everybody has got to get a car loan" or "nobody can afford to have their wife stay home" the list goes on. Even once you figure in some basic laws and a few regulations we have a huge amount of sway on our lives. I truly wish people could recognize this. After physical fitness and being fiscally sound this is probably the biggest thing I wish I could get through to people. So many well intentioned folks back themselves into a corner then gripe and complain about that corner. They can't even see it. Sort of like that comment about guilt from Atlas Shrugged these dysfunctional contemporary life patterns only hold sway over us if we let them. The good thing is that to be free all you have to do is realize you are in fact free.