I recently saw the excellent movie The Shawshank Redemption for the first time since its original release. One scene got me thinking. In it, Morgan Freeman's character is talking about another inmate who has spent almost his whole life in jail, but who is up for parole and is scared of starting a new life in the "real" world. Freeman says: "These prison walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on 'em. That's institutionalized." My question is, is your life institutionalized? Invisible walls are no less real than visible ones, and are harder to break through because they have to be discovered before they can be destroyed. How much of what you think and do in a typical day are influenced, or even determined, by others? Have you gradually become reliant upon things that you would be better off without? Comfort is seductive, but is detrimental to the development of the autonomous spirit. Are you truly free? Or are you sleepwalking through life?