Having been recently turned on to WordPorn, (pun absolutely intended) the first word that I am graced with in my Facebook feed is the title of this post.

It seems that while Facebook and my browser are tuned in to my shopping habits, offering me new Steve Madden boots and guitar recommendations on every other page, WordPorn can sense the restless creature in me straining at its corporeal bars.

Eleutheromania means an intense and irresistible desire for freedom.  It seems there is a name for the affliction that has been consuming me for years. Many times I have wondered if the cage is present for others. I have postulated that I may be one of the few that feels a persistent restraint in everyday life.  Am I a victim of my own imagination formulating a cell that has no real foundation? Do I feel a compulsion to break free of tethers that simply aren’t there?

Or, alternatively, does the prison exist for everyone? And as a conditioned solipsism people have been able to convince themselves that it simply isn’t there.  Maybe the desire to be free has been arrested by a socially contructed panopticon?

The sensations and feelings are real. Everyone has their own way of temporary liberation. Some read a good novel. Others find it through athletic pursuits.  Some venture down the path of intellect or power. Others find liberation through art or music.  Many feel release from religion or through support groups.  Many find the bars become pliable through drugs or even a delicious beer.

One of my favorite bands has a collection of rarities and B-Sides titled A Lifetime of Temporary Relief.  I say that sounds quite accurate.

I have found many ways to impermanently unburden the weight of the chains.  One of my favorite short flights comes in the form of music and song.  Though I am far from proficient at this medium of expression.  I wish to share my summation of these thoughts through a song very dear to me.

Humbly yours,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLuhOhm4Dhg