Some of us need to be wild and free.

We build cages around us to protect ourselves.

They don’t start as cages — they start as nests.

A safe place to rest and to be.

When do we know whether the life we've built is a nest or a cage?

There are signs. A persistent agitation, a nagging frustration. Not the one-off, not the occasional annoyance. The deep, insistent irritation.

So the question turns inward: have I built a cage for myself?

A friend once told me I’m a creature who needs to be wild and free. I've chewed on the concept. I am processing it all:

What does it mean to be wild and free in today's world?

It's easy to look at the extremes — those who forsake the material world to live a life of adventure, paycheck to paycheck, never knowing what the next season will bring.

It's romantic. It's not for me. Maybe it's not for you either.

I’m drawn to the space between the extremes — not quite a romantic wanderer, but not entirely on the well-trodden path either.

How can we live into our nature of being wild and free while enjoying the real benefits of the stable institutions of modernity?

If you're looking for an answer, you're in the wrong place. But perhaps we can explore the question together and find a new understanding.

My best guess is that we can alternate between wild and settled.
It feels better to give yourself fully to one season — nesting or roaming — than to split your energy between the two.

For years I've ridden two horses — building a financial life through software consulting (nest) and establishing a career as a musical artist (wild).
It's so hard to go exponential when you have to switch between the two, even when the balance seems ideal.

I don't have regrets, but I believe a full focus on either would have yielded results.
A full focus on software, committed to a startup or big tech, would have gotten my salary and earning potential much higher over 5 years.
A full commitment to music would have led to a more fully expressed life, perhaps some recognition and momentum to perform and record at higher levels.

Now I am confronted with a life circumstance: a contract is ending, and I am burnt out.
I am tired of riding both horses. I want a break. And yes, I want to focus on one thing.

So I feel a strong draw to be wild and free. No guarantees, no set outcomes.
But with some savings as a financial safety net, I can take some time to explore the savannas.

Perhaps it will lead to a land I could never have found through nesting alone — a place where the wild and the rooted meet