Locked Out/ Locked In

At one time or another, we have all experienced ‘locking’ ourselves out  – sometimes the car, but mostly the home.

In most instances locking yourself out  is usually an indication that there is a need to know just how well you function without the four walls of your house protecting you. It’s a way of testing the survival mechanism that kicks in when we are thrown out of our safety zones. You are literally testing yourself to see just how well you can cope by putting yourself in a situation that requires a more resourceful approach. You are showing yourself that you can manage – by yourself – that it is OK to step out unaided by the things that you carry around as a security blanket. Keys, wallet, phone. Yes, you can manage. It is your way of testing your strengths to ascertain just how well you deal with the scenario you have placed your self in. It is aimed at bringing about an awareness of the importance of a back up plan, who in your life is reliable and how well you can rely on your own resources to get yourself through things. Prior to this experience, there would have been a moment or two throughout the past fortnight where you quietly questioned your survival mode and there fore created a simple way of testing yourself and your survival skills.

Getting yourself locked within a room or in a house is similar in nature. It requires just as much resourcefulness, but there is a slightly different angle on the emotion attached. For the former, it is bewilderment, and although this plays a part of being locked in, there is a fear attached, because most of the time you would be alone, and quite possibly, aid is not as easily at hand. It is showing you that you are not ready to move forward, that there is still a lot you need to learn before you are capable of stepping out alone into unchartered territory. If you are locked in a space with one or more person, this is an indication that as a group, there are things that you need to work on, that you are not ready to face these kinds of challenges and that you need to stick to things that you know well for just a little bit longer before you try again to venture out. This is quite a common theme for children, and it is worthwhile to note that usually the experience alone, will put on hold any plans that do not quite yet fit.