Jail Time

It is perhaps an odd fantasy, but sometimes I wish I were in jail. I wish I were locked away from the world not because it needs protection from me, but because I want to escape from it.

In my fantasy, jail is a place where I have all the time I want to read, think, write, sleep, work-out...all the things that I want to do but that are crowded out by petty things like work and cleaning the kitchen.

Jail, of course, comes with a cost, and that cost is far too high a price for a couple more books. It makes me think, though; if I want that extra time to do those other things, why do I not make it happen? Why do I let the world put so many demands on me that I would feel more free in jail than out?

The truth is, jail would put the responsibility in someone else's hands. Without it, my time is my own responsibility. I can play games, watch TV, read, or play with my kids. The walls of the jail must be built by my own discipline. By shutting out what I do not want, I have the freedom to enjoy what I do. By allowing in what I do not want, I trap myself. I alone bear the blame for my choices.

Discipline is hard. Discipline is freedom.