Resisting Change
My friend was in prison for many years. When she was released she approached me for help. She was concerned for those she left behind and wanted me to help free them and expose the prison for what it really was.
When she took me for a visit I was alarmed. It was a most despicable prison. The inmates were kept in small cages only large enough to crouch in. The cages were on one side of a long hallway. There were two levels and they were stacked one upon the other. The top row of cages was at eye level. Each cage was made of wire so as to let dirt, debris and fecal matter fall through. The fronts had a door that could be opened to allow for food and water. Each door had a huge padlock on it.
As I walked down the long hallway with my friend, I looked into each cage I passed. It was obvious the prison inmates were quite miserable. Most would not eat and remained curled up in the fetal position. Half of them were naked and laying in positions that exposed their genitals. Many were very thin and pale and barely breathing.
My friend begged me to help her free them. We concocted a plan in which she would drug the night guard and steal her keys. The drug didn't last long, only about 80 seconds, so we had to act quickly. She would start unlocking at one end and I would start on the other end. The inmates would exit out the back door and be loaded into two large vans and driven away to safety. In order to time it perfectly, my friend would turn on a radio located near the exit. It would play music for 80 seconds.
The plan was put into action perfectly. The night guard was drugged and we quickly went about unlocking the cages one at a time. At first, the inmates came out, though slowly, and headed toward the exit. However, I came upon more and more who reacted to their freedom at first with astonishment and then fear. Many refused to exit at all, their faces full of terror.
There were several locks that my keys did not fit. When I fiddled with the locks, they turned to dust, falling away as if they had never been there. The inmates inside acted surprised at this and smiled, happy to see their imprisonment was at an end.
The final cage I came to was elaborately decorated and seemed larger than the others. Inside were three women. They were huddled together and yelled out to me, "No! We don't want to leave!" They had all their things gathered around them, mostly clothes and small pieces of cloth in different shades of purple. When I went to open the cage door the lock was already unlocked and the door was slightly ajar. I said to them, "Your cage wasn't even locked! You don't have to stay here. You can be free!" They would not leave.
The music stopped playing and I knew it was time to go. My friend had already loaded the inmates she freed into her van and started driving away. I loaded the last of the inmates I had freed into my van but there were so many they had to sit almost on top of one another. They did not like being crowded together and I reminded them that it would not be for long.
I drove down the road, following my friend's other van. I was worried they would catch us, but no one followed.
Before we exited the prison perimeter, the van I was driving died, it's battery no longer working. I parked the van near a stream and we all got out and waited. I had some food and so shared it with them. We sat on green grass and I watched as the former inmates began to notice their surroundings, each of them slowly becoming more and more aware of where they were and the freedom they now had.
In case you hadn't figured it out, this story is fictional. It is actually a dream I had last night. It was such a vivid dream that the details of it are still very real to me. The small rabbit-hutch-like-cages and the pitiful, obviously miserable inmates living in subhuman conditions were so vivid and horrendous that I was left feeling something had to be done to help them. However, the reactions they had to their freedom perplexed me. Why would some inmates, when given the opportunity to improve their life circumstances and be free, choose instead to be imprisoned in such a horrible place?
At some point in my dream that question was answered. Human beings don't like change. They will cling to it even when that which they don't want to change is pushing them closer and closer to death. You can show them how much better off they will be, but they won't believe you. They don't believe they can do any better. They feel this is how their life is suppose to be; that they deserve it and they can't do anything about it.
This resistance to change and belief that there was nothing better for them is what some of the inmates I freed in the dream were experiencing. There were some that outright refused freedom and did not come with me at all. There were others who initially refused, but upon seeing the door to their cages open began to belief that perhaps there was more to their life than the cage they had been in for so long. Some part of them believed they deserved better. And finally there were those who refused to look outside their cages but I was able to convince them to look and when they did they eagerly left their cages.
In the dream I had to choose to let those who would not follow stay in their cages even though every part of me screamed in protest. I knew they would likely perish in their cages but there were others who needed me so I left them. Later, when I sat in the green grass with the freed inmates and watched them react to their new found freedom, it all made sense. The decision I made had been the right one. All these people now had a chance to improve their lives and themselves because I chose to help them rather than stay behind and risk the group for a few apathetic individuals.
I shared this dream with you in hopes that you may recognize in your life instances where there was resistance to change both in yourself and others. Is change worth it? I believe so.
When she took me for a visit I was alarmed. It was a most despicable prison. The inmates were kept in small cages only large enough to crouch in. The cages were on one side of a long hallway. There were two levels and they were stacked one upon the other. The top row of cages was at eye level. Each cage was made of wire so as to let dirt, debris and fecal matter fall through. The fronts had a door that could be opened to allow for food and water. Each door had a huge padlock on it.
As I walked down the long hallway with my friend, I looked into each cage I passed. It was obvious the prison inmates were quite miserable. Most would not eat and remained curled up in the fetal position. Half of them were naked and laying in positions that exposed their genitals. Many were very thin and pale and barely breathing.
My friend begged me to help her free them. We concocted a plan in which she would drug the night guard and steal her keys. The drug didn't last long, only about 80 seconds, so we had to act quickly. She would start unlocking at one end and I would start on the other end. The inmates would exit out the back door and be loaded into two large vans and driven away to safety. In order to time it perfectly, my friend would turn on a radio located near the exit. It would play music for 80 seconds.
The plan was put into action perfectly. The night guard was drugged and we quickly went about unlocking the cages one at a time. At first, the inmates came out, though slowly, and headed toward the exit. However, I came upon more and more who reacted to their freedom at first with astonishment and then fear. Many refused to exit at all, their faces full of terror.
There were several locks that my keys did not fit. When I fiddled with the locks, they turned to dust, falling away as if they had never been there. The inmates inside acted surprised at this and smiled, happy to see their imprisonment was at an end.
The final cage I came to was elaborately decorated and seemed larger than the others. Inside were three women. They were huddled together and yelled out to me, "No! We don't want to leave!" They had all their things gathered around them, mostly clothes and small pieces of cloth in different shades of purple. When I went to open the cage door the lock was already unlocked and the door was slightly ajar. I said to them, "Your cage wasn't even locked! You don't have to stay here. You can be free!" They would not leave.
The music stopped playing and I knew it was time to go. My friend had already loaded the inmates she freed into her van and started driving away. I loaded the last of the inmates I had freed into my van but there were so many they had to sit almost on top of one another. They did not like being crowded together and I reminded them that it would not be for long.
I drove down the road, following my friend's other van. I was worried they would catch us, but no one followed.
Before we exited the prison perimeter, the van I was driving died, it's battery no longer working. I parked the van near a stream and we all got out and waited. I had some food and so shared it with them. We sat on green grass and I watched as the former inmates began to notice their surroundings, each of them slowly becoming more and more aware of where they were and the freedom they now had.
In case you hadn't figured it out, this story is fictional. It is actually a dream I had last night. It was such a vivid dream that the details of it are still very real to me. The small rabbit-hutch-like-cages and the pitiful, obviously miserable inmates living in subhuman conditions were so vivid and horrendous that I was left feeling something had to be done to help them. However, the reactions they had to their freedom perplexed me. Why would some inmates, when given the opportunity to improve their life circumstances and be free, choose instead to be imprisoned in such a horrible place?
At some point in my dream that question was answered. Human beings don't like change. They will cling to it even when that which they don't want to change is pushing them closer and closer to death. You can show them how much better off they will be, but they won't believe you. They don't believe they can do any better. They feel this is how their life is suppose to be; that they deserve it and they can't do anything about it.
This resistance to change and belief that there was nothing better for them is what some of the inmates I freed in the dream were experiencing. There were some that outright refused freedom and did not come with me at all. There were others who initially refused, but upon seeing the door to their cages open began to belief that perhaps there was more to their life than the cage they had been in for so long. Some part of them believed they deserved better. And finally there were those who refused to look outside their cages but I was able to convince them to look and when they did they eagerly left their cages.
In the dream I had to choose to let those who would not follow stay in their cages even though every part of me screamed in protest. I knew they would likely perish in their cages but there were others who needed me so I left them. Later, when I sat in the green grass with the freed inmates and watched them react to their new found freedom, it all made sense. The decision I made had been the right one. All these people now had a chance to improve their lives and themselves because I chose to help them rather than stay behind and risk the group for a few apathetic individuals.
I shared this dream with you in hopes that you may recognize in your life instances where there was resistance to change both in yourself and others. Is change worth it? I believe so.
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