Self-Catraz

Self-Catraz – Your Personal Prison

I am reduced to a number
My home is made of stone and steel
I stand alone in my misery
Alone
My heart aches
Alone
No choices to make

Afraid
Of what might be
Afraid
What will happen to me?
Dreams vanquished

Plans undone
My hearts song
Left unsung
Prison
What it’s done to me
Diane Broos

Self-Catraz – Escaping Your Personal Prison

Do you feel as though you are dying on the vine of life? I have! Let me encourage you; it’s never too late! Don’t spend another day in Self-catraz being constrained from living the life of your dreams. Act today; think different, do different and be different.

Has the key to my cell been thrown away? Is it too late for me?

Not many of us have been incarcerated in a formal prison. Yet many are self-imprisoned in Self-catraz, living non-authentic lives. When I held my first grandchild Liam in my arms, I realized that his whole life was before him was a clean slate. We have all tasted that freedom at one point or another and yet today many may feel incarcerated by past choices and current circumstances, living lives we neither imagined nor wanted. I’m here to say that that very same freedom is still ours for the taking.

Your journey may well take you down one of the roughest roads you’ll ever walk, but the result will be worth any price paid. There is a price for freedom and the price is the courage and determination to change. As a child I remember playing many games of Monopoly. I always felt fortunate when I picked up the “Get out of Jail Free” card. Life promises us no such card. Living free, authentic lives will always cost you something.

Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”
Lou Holtz

To fear or not to fear that is the question

Yielding to fear will hold us back from the life we have imagined. Thank God for the many courageous men and women who have stepped out from behind the veil of fear and moved forward. Where would we be, had Christopher Columbus not had the courage to act on his belief that the world was round?

It’s a given fact that everyday, thoughts of doubt and unbelief will assault our senses and attempt to immobilize us. Winning the battle will require us to incarcerate the negative thoughts rather than being incarcerated by them. Brace yourself; this is one battle that we will continue to fight all our lives.

Don’t let fear keep you from acting on new choices; it’s the only way to your new life. What I have discovered is that as you begin to move forward fear dissipates and is replaced by a new sense of confidence and self-esteem.

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.”
Walt Disney