“If I had the wings of an angel over these prison walls I would fly.” These are the words to a song my father used to sing to me as he played his guitar. Those words came back to me recently as I was developing a character, the antagonist, in one of my stories. I thought about how some people may be imprisoned within stone walls and yet their spirits cannot be restrained. Others are free to come and go at will, but their minds and spirits are bound as securely as if shackled to walls of cement surrounded by iron bars and barbed wire.
My personal opinion is there are no bad people. There are only people who are trapped in a prison either of their own making, or because of abuse or some genetic weakness.
Fear, I believe, is the strongest prison in the world and is reinforced by anger and hate. Addictions, of many kinds, pave the way to strengthen the chains through abuse and neglect. Minds so damaged often take years, even a lifetime, to free themselves, and many never do.
I believe that the strongest antidote for recovery includes forgiveness of self and others, and a belief in God or a higher power. Generous applications of understanding, knowledge of worth, and the ability to let the past go and move on, are necessary to make these strong medicines effective.
Fear does not come from God. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) With him there is peace, and love.
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