I am standing in the courtyard of the Heidelberg Schloss. Ages ago children played here in the safety of the castle, where its 50 feet walls protected them against all the unwanted elements from the outside. Parents could always look down on their children; they were always under their eyes; a close knit society. They were safe indeed; that was until the castle got destroyed by a foreign king and the safety scheme fell flat.
The castle as a safety haven no longer exists. What is left of this spectacular castle now only serves as a testimony that there is no lasting safety in castles and the walls (whatever they may be) we erect around us to keep us safe.
‘Walls’ do not keep us safe. It’s merely an illusion of safety against the dangers we’ve identified and defined for ourselves. Somehow we decide what is really dangerous and then we find ways to protect ourselves. But it does not last.
We think the greatest dangers are the ones we know about, the ones talked about, the ones we hear about and the ones we can see. We then garner all our energy and resources to protect ourselves against these dangers by erecting walls. In all of this we neglect the dangers aimed at the ‘heart’, from where real life originates.
Does it not say: guard your heart above all else, because therein lies the source of life.
Enjoy your day friend!
– Gerhard Papenfus