A friend went to an escape room over the weekend. He described the series of problems they had to solve involving keys, and levers, clues, and quick thinking. Fortunately there was a group of them to join forces, and tag team their spurts of energy. They finished in fifty nine minutes and forty two seconds. 

Hearing the particulars of the adventure was fun. I vicariously enjoyed their sense of triumph. Each person brought skills to the table, and together they made progress that might have been impossible alone. 

Then it occurred to me that much of life is composed of such escapades. Trying to free my thinking from the confines of negativity is hard. But friends show up at opportune times to help. There are women whose gentle words can calm me down from annoyance, and remind me to breathe. That simple act opens me up like any key. The other day I was stewing in one of those pointless arguments, all within my own brain, when I remembered that listening to pod casts helps liberate me from stuck thinking. It worked, and I appreciated the sense of release.  

The funny thing is, my friend signed up for the chance to escape. Paid good money for it too. I smiled to think that such conundrums land in my lap every day for free.