Boundless

Everything has some kind of wall or preventative control factor. We live in a world of standards and process, of being in control and having all the control. We freak out when this control is lost or the order of what we think is right goes awry. We like boundaries.

At some point, you have to look at these boundaries in a different lens. Is this proverbial grey area holding people out or keeping me in? If you look at your boundaries you'll realize you set them so you can have control, so you can prevent others from changing your natural order of things. Because chaos is the fear that keeps those walls up. So we create them to fence us in.

Life is a box of chocolates...In fact its the annoying sampler box that no one really likes and is always regifted. It doesn't have the chart on what each candy is and after a few days all the chocolates are still left in the box but with slight holes and tears from people trying to find a flavor they like. It becomes a mess, a failure. So we set the boundaries. We build lines because life is messy. That's how we are made.

Kids hide under their blankets at night pretending there's a magical forcefield that protects them from the monsters. As long as no skin is exposed, the monster can't get to them. They tug all corners of the blanket to ensure full coverage, they set the perimeters to lock them under. They set their boundary of protection, of security. As adults we carry the same blanket as we did as a kid. We throw this blanket on when we suspect that a monster is after us. Whether it is a work security blanket that prevents us from taking that risk or a personal security blanket that tells you that emotionally its right but fundamentally its wrong. We throw this blanket over us and set our boundary to keep us in but not to face what's on the outside.

And at the end of the day we all claim that our boundaries really aren't boundaries at all. We hide behind the lines and scream that there are no lines. Now isn't that a funny thing? When our own boundaries turn up not what we expect we just blame it on faith. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be just a bit off than how you envisioned. The big castle in the sky, well, it may not be a castle at all. And the happy ever after, just that its happy right now. You see, every now and then we get a curve thrown at us and instead of fighting the change or complaining that it isn't what we expected or hoped it'd be we should see it for what it is. Because once in a while, people will surprise you, and once in a while people may even take your breath away. And isn't that something you don't want to set a boundary for?

Maybe we like the walls and the pain we get when these walls hold us back? Maybe we're wired for it. Because without it, I don't know, maybe we just wouldn't feel real. There's a saying that goes "Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when I stop."

So before we build more lines and walls, lets think about the things we want to keep inside and trapped with us. If we do, then we may realize there are more lines worth crossing and more walls worth tearing down than is necessary. And those monsters we hide under the blanket from...expose yourself to them and you'll realize those monsters aren't so scary afterall.