A few things in a few moments.....
Spent almost all of my time off for thanksgiving working on some stone walls with my dad. Thought some thoughts and here they are....
When pondering the very concept of a wall, the idea of it all can be broken down into 2 very simple parts. On one side there is something to be preserved and on the other is all that would otherwise work against said preservation.
In this case, the stone walls we're building will contain a long 400 foot drive way and will work to keep the road base and asphalt top in place.
Some of the more famous walls in history worked in very much a similar fashion. The focus of the Berlin Wall was to keep East Berlin citizens from crossing over into west berlin, and thus preserve the interests of the communist Govt. that built it. Metaphorically, the Berlin Wall was the visible dividing line between Democracy and Communism.
The Great wall of china was built over 22 centuries, from the 5th century BC up until the 17th century. Its main purpose was to protect Various parts of China from it Mongolian neighbors and various other nomadic tribes.
In a far smaller scale, comparatively speaking, Dad and I started building a simple fence around mom's front yard to create a place for the grand kids to play, my brother's children. It's main purpose is to keep them from running out into the street and to create an area where they can play and roam, more or less, free from outside hazards.
These walls were build with little more than wood, stone, and mortar. Their purpose is to protect that which is deemed worth preserving.
And what about our own personal walls? Built not with stone and mortar, but with insecurities and lifetimes worth of unexpected dips and dives along the road. The experiences that shape how we view the world and more importantly, they shape how we keep that world in check from our unguarded selves. We put up these defenses so as to keep at bay that which would other wise work towards the contrary of our vested interests in ourselves. What company do we keep? Who are we close to? Who can walk in and out of these walls as they please and who will never step foot in here?
Our parents built walls around us. They influenced our thinking, they instill in us their Ideals and values. They do their best, not in all cases, to set us on a road we will have to walk on our own one day. Then one day we pass through those walls, shaped and formed, and with the free will to make new rules or augment the old ones.
I thought about how people usually only fence in their backyards and not their front yards. I guess because it's proper. To have some place to put your dogs or your lawn mowers. To keep that which really doesn't belong out in the front yard in the first place. Have to keep up that appearance you know. It's just proper I guess. It's with that thought in mind I examine my own walls and the walls of those around me. It seems that just having a boundary of whats proper seems like a good enough reason to have it.
It's just the way things should be.
When pondering the very concept of a wall, the idea of it all can be broken down into 2 very simple parts. On one side there is something to be preserved and on the other is all that would otherwise work against said preservation.
In this case, the stone walls we're building will contain a long 400 foot drive way and will work to keep the road base and asphalt top in place.
Some of the more famous walls in history worked in very much a similar fashion. The focus of the Berlin Wall was to keep East Berlin citizens from crossing over into west berlin, and thus preserve the interests of the communist Govt. that built it. Metaphorically, the Berlin Wall was the visible dividing line between Democracy and Communism.
The Great wall of china was built over 22 centuries, from the 5th century BC up until the 17th century. Its main purpose was to protect Various parts of China from it Mongolian neighbors and various other nomadic tribes.
In a far smaller scale, comparatively speaking, Dad and I started building a simple fence around mom's front yard to create a place for the grand kids to play, my brother's children. It's main purpose is to keep them from running out into the street and to create an area where they can play and roam, more or less, free from outside hazards.
These walls were build with little more than wood, stone, and mortar. Their purpose is to protect that which is deemed worth preserving.
And what about our own personal walls? Built not with stone and mortar, but with insecurities and lifetimes worth of unexpected dips and dives along the road. The experiences that shape how we view the world and more importantly, they shape how we keep that world in check from our unguarded selves. We put up these defenses so as to keep at bay that which would other wise work towards the contrary of our vested interests in ourselves. What company do we keep? Who are we close to? Who can walk in and out of these walls as they please and who will never step foot in here?
Our parents built walls around us. They influenced our thinking, they instill in us their Ideals and values. They do their best, not in all cases, to set us on a road we will have to walk on our own one day. Then one day we pass through those walls, shaped and formed, and with the free will to make new rules or augment the old ones.
I thought about how people usually only fence in their backyards and not their front yards. I guess because it's proper. To have some place to put your dogs or your lawn mowers. To keep that which really doesn't belong out in the front yard in the first place. Have to keep up that appearance you know. It's just proper I guess. It's with that thought in mind I examine my own walls and the walls of those around me. It seems that just having a boundary of whats proper seems like a good enough reason to have it.
It's just the way things should be.