The restrained freedom

One windy spring day, I observed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Multicolored creations of varying shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds darting（突进，猛冲） and dancing. As the strong winds gusted against the kites, a string kept them in check.

Instead of blowing away with the wind, they arose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining string and the cumbersome（笨重的，累赘的） tail kept them in tow, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled and trembled against the string, they seemed to say, "Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!" They soared beautifully even as they fought the restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose（挣脱，摆脱） . "Free at last," it seemed to say. "Free to fly with the wind."

Yet freedom from restraint（抑制，约束） simply put it at the mercy of an unsympathetic breeze. It fluttered ungracefully to the ground and landed in a tangled（紊乱的，纠缠的） mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. "Free at last" free to lie powerless in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to lodge lifeless against the first obstruction.

Let us each rise to the great heights, recognizing that some of the restraints that we may chafe（擦伤，摩擦） under are actually the steadying force that helps us ascend and achieve.