Confined and Released

“We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.” Tennessee Williams.

I think the sentence for most applies to the worst of our times, inside. Mine were the occasions when a woman broke my heart and when I was required to learn emergency medical management in medical school.  The former wounded me. The latter taught me that Billy Jean King was wrong. Pressure is not a privilege.

Then in the 70s, I worked as a physician/autopsy surgeon in forensic pathology. I didn’t see the mayhem from illness or trauma live, only the result. Far more peaceful. Much less confining.

In the 70s, I met the love of my life. The trials of relationship. Its priceless nature. The joy of family. Rather than confining me within my skin, that experience was expansive. I had a life’s partner.

But my life became its broadest and deepest when I began quiet prayer to the Creator of the breath of life. Thank God.