Safety, Security or Both?
I’ve been playing phone tag with the locksmith lately. He just rang up to tell me when he can come to do the work we need. Here’s the scoop:
On one side of our building, there was an attempted break-in. On the other, an actual break-in. Our co-residents on the third floor had a hissy fit, and without permission, installed dead bolts on their front and back doors.
The key system in our building is a master key system. Now I, who am a keeper of one of the master keys, have an additional key for each of those units. One key makes things easier and safer during an emergency. Hence, the locksmith.
The whole mishegas made me think about safety … and security.
Do dead bolts make us safe? Not really. But the folks on the third floor were alarmed, and so one unit put a dead bolt on their unit. The other person on the floor felt she had little choice. If someone is going to break in, aren’t they going to choose the unit without the deadbolt? She had a point.
But dead bolts don’t make us safe, dear one. Not now, not ever. They only let us have the illusion that we are safe. In addition, safety doesn’t really create security either. And we want that illusion, too. Yikes.
Truthfully, the only real safety and the only real security come from within out, and not the other way round.
Do you want to be safe? Decide you’re safe.
Do you want to feel secure? Decide you’re secure.
The definitions of those terms are up to each of us as individuals. Scary? Maybe, but I think the alternative is scarier—letting someone else decide when I am safe and secure.
Give a serious thought to this, dear one. What makes you feel safe? What makes you feel secure? Do you like your definitions? If so, excellent. If not, change them.
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March 8, 2010 8:40 am
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By Kasey, March 9, 2010 @ 1:22 pm
As I prepared for my solo backpacking trip though India, and whenever I felt a rush of panic or fear while thousands of miles away from my home, I held the mantra, “I am one with the world and safe at all times.” I used this mantra in almost every thought and then, one day, I didn’t need to remind myself anymore. I just know it.
This mantra also reminds me not to fear the moment of my death.