Growl

Claustrophobia.

No one likes to feel boxed in. Not by poverty. Not by a dead-end job. Not by their relationships.

Most of all, there is the bridling against the closing circle of time. That's the one that chafes the most.

Sadly, in the face of these, we begin to believe the very things we most want to resist. We begin to believe that it's too late to change. That things are as they are and no amount of effort---and certainly no amount of complaining--is going to change anything very much.

Well, I don't buy it.

Things can change. They change all the time. And complaining isn't all bad either. In fact, it may be the beginning of wisdom. A good, clear, passionate protest articulates what we resist, what we oppose.

It's the old dog's growl.

When we're backed into a corner, we old dogs know it's time to fight.