Some bonds constrain us, and confine us to isolation one from another. Others release us from our confinement and our isolation, letting us loose and inviting us to enter into community with one another. The former bonds cage and enslave us, whereas the latter ones open our cage-doors and set us free. The former constipate us, tightening us up and closing us down. The latter act laxatively, as it were. They open us out like blossoms, loosening us up and relaxing us.