A castle

We are all surrounded by walls. I remember someone - who? - saying that every men is an island, but I prefer the walls' metaphor - as if every men is, instead of an island, a castle. A castle with inner and outer walls, ramparts, battlements, defensive turrets. A castle built on the top of a hill, overlooking a wide area, always prepared to stand in its defense. And we let people into our domain: most of them remain in the land around it. Some of them live near the protection of the walls. Some are allowed to live inside the stronghold, between the inner and outer walls. A few are allowed into the main castle, but only a handful of them have access to the throne room - and nonetheless they have to walk cautiously there, making little noice and being courteous to whoever they meet. Inside our castle no rules can be broken by anyone - the penalty is to be cast out, even if only for a limited time (not everyone is that forgiving though). We should always remember this. We should always remember that we have absolutely no right to step into someone else's domain. We have no claim over someone else's being. If we are allowed into the inner castle, then we should be thankful and never make a mess. Unfortunately this isn't as obvious as it should be, and some people go on thinking that they have a right over someone else.