Lightning destroys a great Tower. People leap or fall from the windows, unto the rocks or into the waves below. The tower stands for the lies of our lives. Its inhabitants were not free within its narrow confines, but they felt (for a while at least) safe and secure, comfortable with their beliefs. Suddenly realizing the truth will bring deep shock and have the lies come suddenly and violently crashing down. 

 

The tower can be interpreted as represent the strongly-held but false beliefs (perceptions, attitudes, behaviours) we allow ourselves to hold. We willingly blind ourselves. We may believe that nothing is amiss in our relationship, our financial situation or at work, just because we don't want to see it. We may hide our true feelings and think we can live in pretence indefinitely. We may think we are better and more righteous than others - our pride building a Tower of Babel. Alternatively, the tower can stand for false structures and institutions outside ourselves.

 

When the Tower comes crashing down, it comes down violently. It comes down with anger, grief, depression, hopelessness. How could we have been so naive? It's certainly confronting, but it is also a necessary experience. A tower of lies is always structurally unsafe. The harsh truth has set us free from that false comfort zone, and will allow us to reclaim the solid foundations (rock bottom, as it were) on which we can rebuild ourselves.