One Apple A Day #713 - drop the defences
"The problem in defence is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without." — Dwight D. Eisenhower
I read this quote from Eisenhower a few days ago, and since then, I haven't been able to take it out of my mind. I sense these words are saying me something valuable even I'm not sure what, yet.
So, I decided to set an appointment with my creative self and see if together, we can crack the message.
Thinking about the time we are living, with the lockdown, the distancing, the masks and all the rest, the message can be quite straightforward. How long can we stay locked in our own houses or in ourselves - that is what social distancing is all about, isn't it? - without losing our balance or even our sanity. In short, without destroying ourselves from within.
But I feel there is something more about that quote. Something personal and intimate. Something about my mindset and my attitude towards this whole situation. From the very beginning, I thought it was vital for me to protect my mental and emotional space from all the toxic news and conversations around me. The fearful, divisive, judgemental and blaming ones. I made a commitment to stay away from media as much as I could, to avoid conversations that I felt were not forward-oriented. However, in doing so, I realised that some negative feelings and thoughts have been growing in me. Resentment, arrogance, annoyance, anger. I became judgemental. The very thing I was trying to keep outside my defence has been growing within. So, maybe instead of defending my space from external forces, I should focus on nurturing my inner strength so I won't have to build any wall.