'Build a Wall' Mindset

From the Ship of Fools Tarot, the Tower; from the Wisdom of the Four Winds, Mantis:

We all can get in the 'build a wall' mindset when we feel threatened by people, things, or situations. We strategize and make preparations, believing we can out-think and save ourselves from reality. In our mind, a separation is made between us and them, this and that. I am a person who likes to prepare for things, but I have learned the hard way that I live in a world of constant change and uncertainty. I'd do better to practice resilience and equanimity instead. Plus, fear never sees with clarity, so why make it the captain of my ship? Mantis is an insect that can be so still, it is often overlooked as a twig or leaf. It's keyword is discernment, the ability to see clearly and objectively. To employ it necessitates slowing down my mental pace and releasing my obsessive desires, tightly-held opinions, and emotional drama. Here in this open space I can meet reality, do what I can, and make peace with the rest.  

What the Buddha came to see is that who we are is an ever-changing stream of experience. And when we cling—to our firmly held ideas, beliefs, roles, and identities—we freeze-frame reality, turning flowing water into frozen ice, and then we find ourselves pinched and bound, locked into tiny cells. Our cold, sharp edges become a prison. We are in here, and everything else is out there. ~Pamala Weis