Daydreaming: a safe place in Bethlehem
Daydreaming is the faculty of the mind that spontaneously recreates experiences and experiences, immersing itself in another reality. Children possess a vivid imagination; they invent characters and stories by experiencing them as if they were real. As they grow up they understand the difference between reality and the imaginary-a friendly world, a free, open land, harmony with nature. Sometimes reality seems threatening, intrusive, difficult to understand and deal with. But when reality does NOT seem but IS, what tools come to the rescue of the imagination, the dream? Where to wander with the mind, retreat to an imaginary world and find refuge from the fears, loneliness, dangers that are about to extinguish any relationship with what was familiar to us until yesterday?
This brief reflection accompanied us on the difficult, uncertain, challenging path of helping the children of Bethlehem today in danger and tomorrow likely victims of the reality that is erasing all fantastic imagery and smiles or made orphans by violence we are powerless to stop.
In Bethlehem, the Foundation has the opportunity to adapt its Headquarters-now used as logistical support for projects in the West Bank and for extracurricular activities-also to the psycho-physical recovery project for all children in the Bethlehem area. The proximity to the historical center, the large garden area, the architecture of the building bordering on beauty in form and color, the functional distribution of the interior spaces and the provision of some existing equipment and our Bethlemite staff maintaining its state of efficiency are the prerequisites for a good result.
This "refuge" thus has a protective function-providing a feeling of safety and tranquility, pushing disturbances into the background of one's mind and becoming new nourishment for creativity by providing companionship and guidance-but also a purposeful one, providing a place where with others one can retrace unpredictable scenarios that bring fullness and lifeblood to the imagination.
Andrea Bottinelli,
President of the John Paul II Foundation