Recently, in the news, there has been several stories about people who left the grid, took off, and just wanted to escape the reality of whatever reality they were living. There was this one guy, from the Great Lakes, who staged his own death and took off for Eastern Europe to hook up with some woman he met online. His family, the police, and all of those kind of people did an expansive search for him but found nothing but his abandoned canoe. Initially, he was presumed dead. But, the search continued until he finally fessed up online and eventually came home to face charges. Why he came back, I don’t know??? But, he did. I guess the grass wasn’t greener, as it rarely is.
 
There was also recently this young woman, from Hawaii, who didn’t catch her transfer fight at LAX and fell off the grid. Her family went nuts. They all came here to L.A. to find her. They did all of this searching, news conferences, and the like, begging for help to locate her. Her father even killed himself a few days in. He jumped from a parking structure by LAX. The one I always park my car at when I’m going to fly out of town for a few days. Why he did that, I have no idea? Eventually, she wasn’t sex trafficked or anything like that, as her family was worried about. Instead, she just tossed her phone and headed down to Old Mexico. She was eventually found there but initially did not want to come back. I hear that she just returned claiming that she didn’t know about all of the hoopla that had been taking place around her. Your father killed himself girl!

The point of all of this is, in each of these cases, people really went on the search for these missing people. People really went out of their way to find them. Do you have people like that in your life? I know I don’t. Like I’ve, (jokingly), told my lady for many-many years, if you want to get rid of me you could easily kill me off and no one would even notice. If anyone asks, you can just tell them I went back to India. No one would ever question that.
 
I suppose it’s good to have a large group of people who truly care about you. I’ve never had that, but I can surmise. But, it is also daunting. I mean, then you have to behave in the way that they see fit, or you will be exiled. I mean, what is better, to have a bunch of, “So-Called,” caring people, that expect you to behave in a specific manner, or to be free to be who and what you truly want to be?
 
That’s why people who joined the French Foreign Legion, back in the day, (at least so I am told), changed the name and cut off all ties with their family. Freedom. This is the same with those who truly walk the Spiritual Path. Their guru changes their name, and they renounce the world, in all of its shapes and form, including family and friends. It is believed, that only through that boundless freedom, true knowledge and enlightenment can be found. For if you are bound you are bound. If you are not, you are not.
 
This is just something to think about. What is the definition of your life? But, even more importantly, who defines it? You or them? Are you want you have created? Or, are you only a reflection of what everyone else expects you be?
 
Can you be who you truly see yourself as being when you are defined by the boundaries of those who care about you and what they expect from you? Does that hold you back from being all you believe you can become? Or, does that provide you with the security that allows you to know you will never be alone? As in all cases: your life, your choice.