I was on my way to Chicago last weekend and crossing the border from Indiana to Illinois, I thought to myself “This is so weird. One moment I am in one state and the next I’m in another. I’ve crossed a boundary that defines where I am. Not to mention, it changes what time it is! My body has no concept of time changes. Just because I am now in the Central Time Zone and it says its 2pm, my body is still living very much as if it’s 3pm!” Oh to live in my brain. Sometimes it can be exhausting, but I am a curious person by nature, and I can’t help but ask questions.
Anyway, as I am thinking these thoughts, I am trying to determine who actually sets these boundaries. Really. Who decided this space on Earth is Indiana and that one is Illinois with another set of rules. It’s still Earth. Humans set these boundaries arbitrarily to some extent. Do you think the universe cares if I am in Indiana or Illinois? I’m thinking that answer is a big fat “no.”
Then it got to me think theoretically, it’s like any boundary in life. They are set and established but do they actually exist? They don’t. We set laws and people break them all the time. These boundaries are setting a standard for behavior, but when it comes down to it, people will still do what they want regardless of these boundaries. Same with personal boundaries. I am sure you have said at some point that you don’t want work coming home with you or you want to maintain a personal space bubble and those boundaries have been violated to some extent. BECAUSE THEY DON’T ACTUALLY EXIST!
Let’s now expand that concept to our own mental boundaries we establish. It’s that little voice inside that tells you that you aren’t capable of something. The one that tells you that you have reached potential. The one that indicates where your limitations in life are. In most instances, we are inundated with boundaries OTHER people establish, but what about those boundaries we establish for ourselves?! We probably have more boundaries than possibilities established in our lives. If you step back and think about it, what is a boundary, really? The true definition is:
“Boundary: a line that marks the limits of an area or a limit of activity”
What do I think a boundary truly is? An imaginary piece of BS that was established by someone else or yourself to keep you from discovery…discovery of new places: real and figurative. Travel without the idea of boundaries, think without the idea of boundaries, live without the idea of boundaries. All of a sudden you open an entire potential of possibility that those imaginary boundaries shielded you from seeing. Maybe my new motto should be “Life without boundaries.” It’s a simple statement with a really profound idea behind the fact that limitations in that sense don’t actually exist. Food for thought.