We are born chasing the sun. We have crossed oceans, built pyramids, and conquered lands, all in the name of the golden orb. The British empire once boasted of an empire where the sun never sets. As humans, we crave the light: the real and tangible. And as we seek out new horizons, one can wonder, are running towards new beginnings or away from the shadows.
When we are children, we are taught to fear the dark. And taught to love the noble night-light that protects us from the monsters lurking deep beneath the shadowy recesses of the bed. We grow up learning to fear what we don't know or understand. That which cannot be conquered is avoided. There is a fear of the limitless, of empty space and no restraints. We grow accustomed to our allotted spaces, confined by our need of comfort and safety.
The halls of childhood ring with the words "Safety First!" And every time I snap the buckle of my seat belt, these words reverberate through my mind. And seat belts have inadvertently saved countless lives. But if ever there were a real accident, where the car flipped ten times over and is mangled beyond repair, would a seat belt save me? Let's not forget the classic irony of the protagonist trapped in a flaming vehicle by the very seat belt meant to save them: the instrument of protection becomes an instrument of death. Locking the door doesn't prevent a kleptomaniac from chucking a brick through the window, and obeying pedestrian signals doesn't stop a rampant alcoholic from running a person over.
Precautions can only deter a predator, so why do these simple, routine measures give us such a sound peace of mind? Night and day, what makes one environment more pleasing or perilous than another, other than the humans and minds that inhabit it. The Okefenokee Swamp is clear demonstrator of the human mind's ability to perceive the environment in different ways; While one passage described it as a sanctuary the other depicted it as the mother of all horror. Reality is that the mind chooses how it sees the environment: nothing but the mind can transform a tranquil forest clearing into a murderous, fog-filled wood. Our lives are dictated by our surroundings, yet our surroundings are dictated by our subconscious minds. When safety is an illusion, the environment we occupy shouldn't dictate the limits of human ambition.
When we are children, we are taught to fear the dark. And taught to love the noble night-light that protects us from the monsters lurking deep beneath the shadowy recesses of the bed. We grow up learning to fear what we don't know or understand. That which cannot be conquered is avoided. There is a fear of the limitless, of empty space and no restraints. We grow accustomed to our allotted spaces, confined by our need of comfort and safety.
The halls of childhood ring with the words "Safety First!" And every time I snap the buckle of my seat belt, these words reverberate through my mind. And seat belts have inadvertently saved countless lives. But if ever there were a real accident, where the car flipped ten times over and is mangled beyond repair, would a seat belt save me? Let's not forget the classic irony of the protagonist trapped in a flaming vehicle by the very seat belt meant to save them: the instrument of protection becomes an instrument of death. Locking the door doesn't prevent a kleptomaniac from chucking a brick through the window, and obeying pedestrian signals doesn't stop a rampant alcoholic from running a person over.
Precautions can only deter a predator, so why do these simple, routine measures give us such a sound peace of mind? Night and day, what makes one environment more pleasing or perilous than another, other than the humans and minds that inhabit it. The Okefenokee Swamp is clear demonstrator of the human mind's ability to perceive the environment in different ways; While one passage described it as a sanctuary the other depicted it as the mother of all horror. Reality is that the mind chooses how it sees the environment: nothing but the mind can transform a tranquil forest clearing into a murderous, fog-filled wood. Our lives are dictated by our surroundings, yet our surroundings are dictated by our subconscious minds. When safety is an illusion, the environment we occupy shouldn't dictate the limits of human ambition.
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