--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once I was free; there was no cage that…" description: "\"“Once I was free; there was no cage that could bind me, and I had yet to create my box of numbness within my mind to be my silent protector.”\" — J.D. S..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/j-d-stroube-19662_bind_once-i-was-free-there-was-no-cage-that-c_2779913.jpg" --- # Once I was free; there was no cage that could bind me, and… ![“Once I was free; there was no cage that could bind me, and I had yet to create my box of numbness within my mind to be my silent protector.” quote by J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/j-d-stroube-19662_bind_once-i-was-free-there-was-no-cage-that-c_2779913.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/j-d-stroube-19662_bind_once-i-was-free-there-was-no-cage-that-c_2779913.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/800/j-d-stroube-19662_bind_once-i-was-free-there-was-no-cage-that-c_2779913.jpg) > ““Once I was free; there was no cage that could bind me, and I had yet to create my box of numbness within my mind to be my silent protector.”” [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom is unbounded until we create mental cages that protect us from feeling. **In simple terms:** Self‑imposed mental limits hinder true freedom. Key Takeaway Recognize and dissolve mental barriers. Themes freedom mind self‑awareness Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy session - creative writing - mindfulness practice - personal journaling Key Concepts psychological constructs personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What mental cages have you built? - How can you release them? A Different Perspective Self‑protection can become confinement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cage/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Empath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empath/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Numb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numb/) [Protector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protector/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) ## Related quotes > [A lazy frost, a numbness of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/a-lazy-frost-a-numbness-of-the-mind/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“Somethin in me has been set free from a cage I never knew was there. It flies with Yellachile at night, and we go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mccammon/somethin-in-me-has-been-set-free-from-a-cage-i-never-knew-was-there/) [Robert McCammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mccammon/) > [“You are free. The cage is open. Wait, what cage?!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-bello-accioly/you-are-free-the-cage-is-open-wait-what-cage/) [Victor Bello Accioly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-bello-accioly/) > [When the mind is empty, silent, when it is in a state of complete negation - which is not blankness, nor the opposite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/when-the-mind-is-empty-silent-when-it-is-in-a-state-of-complete/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“It had only been two days – two days – since he’d seen her last, and yet he’d missed her every step of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-b-wade/it-had-only-been-two-days-two-days-since-he-d-seen-her-last-and-yet/) [Angela B. Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-b-wade/) > [Love is not of the mind, it is not in the net of thought, it cannot be sought out, cultivated, cherished; it is there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/love-is-not-of-the-mind-it-is-not-in-the-net-of-thought-it-cannot-be/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [We have to learn to go beyond both a positive mind and a negative mind to become a silent, nonjudgmental, non-analytical, non-interpretiv e mind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/we-have-to-learn-to-go-beyond-both-a-positive-mind-and-a-negative/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“A witer's mind is NEVER silent. It is always conducting the next symphony of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-austin/a-witer-s-mind-is-never-silent-it-is-always-conducting-the-next/) [Leslie Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-austin/) > [“When the mind is silent, beyond weakness or non concentration, then it can enter into a world which is far beyond the mind,the highest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maitreya-upanishad/when-the-mind-is-silent-beyond-weakness-or-non-concentration-then-it/) Maitreya Upanishad > [Something is happening because of silence, because of peace, because of silence; if your mind is silent, if your mind is quiet, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-l-poonja/something-is-happening-because-of-silence-because-of-peace-because-of/) [H. W. L. Poonja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-l-poonja/) > [It is time that beats in the breast and it is time That batters against the mind, silent and proud, The mind that knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-time-that-beats-in-the-breast-and-it-is-time-that-batters/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [When your tongue is silent, you can rest in the silence of the forest. When your imagination is silent, the forest speaks to you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-your-tongue-is-silent-you-can-rest-in-the-silence-of-the-forest/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Of course, you can’t force your mind to be silent. That would be like trying to smooth ripples in water with a flatiron. Water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/of-course-you-can-t-force-your-mind-to-be-silent-that-would-be-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [When the mind is silent and quiet, then inner energies wake up and work miracles on your behalf without any conscious effort on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/when-the-mind-is-silent-and-quiet-then-inner-energies-wake-up-and/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/to-go-beyond-the-mind-you-must-be-silent-and-quiet-peace-and-silence/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) ## More by J.D. Stroube > [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to “socialize” at the bonfire, but she wanted to broadcast to the general population that her antisocial behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/it-wasn-t-that-she-necessarily-wanted-to-socialize-at-the-bonfire-but/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“There are people in the world, who are just wrong, and then there are the masses of population that are right, or at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/there-are-people-in-the-world-who-are-just-wrong-and-then-there-are/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Their screams would echo through the house and reverberate against my eardrums until my mind would fracture. Years went by and with each fracture;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/their-screams-would-echo-through-the-house-and-reverberate-against-my/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Life is filled with unanswered questions, but it is the courage to seek those answers that continues to give meaning to life. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/life-is-filled-with-unanswered-questions-but-it-is-the-courage-to/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“If the town were a black hole, I was the helpless star being sucked into oblivion. It was an oblivion I craved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/if-the-town-were-a-black-hole-i-was-the-helpless-star-being-sucked/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“The walls that caged me were not of this world, but were within my mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/the-walls-that-caged-me-were-not-of-this-world-but-were-within-my-mind/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“It stood calm against the suburban storm raging around it. The thunder screamed across the sky; it slapped the clouds into a heated turmoil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/it-stood-calm-against-the-suburban-storm-raging-around-it-the-thunder/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“The melodious song mesmerized me and cloaked my soul in a most liberating embrace I had never known. The emotion enveloped me, and smothered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/the-melodious-song-mesmerized-me-and-cloaked-my-soul-in-a-most/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“I took my menial life for granted until it became clear, why my early years resulted in a lack of adoption.- J.D. Stroube (Rival:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-took-my-menial-life-for-granted-until-it-became-clear-why-my-early/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Even knowing that my presence brought a shadow over the lives of my loved ones, I can't regret the experiences I've had with them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/even-knowing-that-my-presence-brought-a-shadow-over-the-lives-of-my/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“Angels exist; sometimes they're your best friend and other times they are someone you met a single time or know only by name, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/angels-exist-sometimes-they-re-your-best-friend-and-other-times-they/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“These were people who hunted for a way to erase the haunted, malnourished gaze from their souls and replace it with their faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/these-were-people-who-hunted-for-a-way-to-erase-the-haunted/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“No one has free will until they are an adult, and by then the choices that were made for them, have already set them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/no-one-has-free-will-until-they-are-an-adult-and-by-then-the-choices/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [“He moved like a bird; twitching and bunching his shoulders. His head angled back and forth to watch me, and as he did, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/he-moved-like-a-bird-twitching-and-bunching-his-shoulders-his-head/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) [Explore all 32 J.D. Stroube quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) ## More Bind quotes > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [If I were the rain that bind together the earth and sky, who in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/if-i-were-the-rain-that-bind-together-the-earth-and-sky-who-in-all/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [My day job finds me in a double-bind often, and it's an ideal position for anyone interested in becoming highly reactive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drumm/my-day-job-finds-me-in-a-double-bind-often-and-it-s-an-ideal-position/) [Kevin Drumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drumm/) > [I feel art has the power to bind us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-apte/i-feel-art-has-the-power-to-bind-us/) [Radhika Apte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-apte/) > [I can score the ball a little bit. But sometimes I put myself in a bind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collin-sexton/i-can-score-the-ball-a-little-bit-but-sometimes-i-put-myself-in-a-bind/) [Collin Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collin-sexton/) > [I have asked Centre for scheduled caste status to 13 backward classes including Kewat, Kahar, Kashyap, Mallah, Nishad, Lonia, Kumhar, Dheevar, Bind, Machhiara, Lohia-Chauhan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/i-have-asked-centre-for-scheduled-caste-status-to-13-backward-classes/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [“Promise me that you’ll never cut me out. Promise me that you’ll never walk away—no matter how badly I fuck up.” I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/promise-me-that-you-ll-never-cut-me-out-promise-me-that-you-ll-never/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [The rise of digital technology put marketers in a bind. No longer a captive audience, consumers were splitting their time across devices, social networks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-rise-of-digital-technology-put-marketers-in-a-bind-no-longer-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [“Bind your fate to mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/bind-your-fate-to-mine/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [I have never tried to bind myself in some kind of an image on screen. 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I mean, my parents were divorced - though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/that-whole-business-of-having-two-homes-and-that-divided-loyalty-bind/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) Browse all 50 Bind quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once I was free; there was no cage that could bind me, and I had yet to create my box of numbness within my mind to be my silent protector.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.D. 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