Life on the ground is often rigid. We spend the better part of our days living between the lines, whether it’s the boundaries of a house or office, the narrow edges of a sidewalk, or the slightly wider lines of a highway. It’s easy to believe we’re well-traveled until we realize that all we’re doing is swapping out the confines of one city for another.
I think that’s one of the reasons I like flying. From the air, the lines are blurred, if seen at all. From the air, most of those lines mean nothing. I can slice them up, crossing at odd angles, but best of all, I can ignore them. On the ground, I have to follow the lines, bound by a path someone else put down long ago.
Then there are the invisible lines drawn all around us. Society wants us to “walk the line,” to “stay on the straight and narrow.” It expects us to “keep it between the lines,” and above all, forbids us to “cross the line.”
For today, I plan to find ways to step outside the lines, even if it’s only beyond the ones I’ve created for myself, those invisible ruts of habit that keep me doing the same things over and over. For today, I will look for ways to slip off the beaten path even if only to pierce the green curtain of some nearby woods for a few moments, to view the world from an alternate angle and marvel how different it looks from my new vantage point.
For today, I’m going to dare the lines of my life to contain me.
What lines will you cross today?
Such an inspirational post. It is time for all of us to leave the comfort zone we live in, to cross the boundaries and to face the challenges of the world. Thanks for the positive approach.
I'm a fan of pushing all of the lines – and now will consider bluntly & boldly crossing lots of lines. Thanks for the mind poke.
Thanks, Bob. Hope you crossed those lines according to plan and are hopefully in the mountains where it's a little cooler.
Be careful, Ms. Harris. 🙂
Busta! Where have you been? Did you "blink" out on me?
Linda, I have to believe you created a lot of open space to roam through even before you retired. And as for your question, "Is there such a thing as too much freedom?" I certainly hope not.
Good food for thought. Newly retired, I find myself at a point in life where I don't have to consider the lines the way I once did. Unfortunately, with no real direction or objectives to structure my day, the lines are not boundaries at all… it's all open space. Is there such a thing as too much freedom?
Always making me stop to think;
Time-to-time hits me just at the brink;
One thing's clear from the many blogs that are here;
Life's too short to live in fear of falling over the line or under the bar.
I'll probably cross some line that will involve me having to take a breath-a-lyzer, but good post regardless. 😉
"…to pierce the green curtain of some nearby woods…" beautifully said Chris! On my way later today…hopeful of stepping outside the corporate lines with a 2:30 departure!