When I was a small child I remember visiting the state line area between Nevada and California. As we walked down the sidewalk my dad brought to my attention that we had just passed from one state to another. He continued strolling ahead, but I stopped dead in my tracks and searched the ground as if I had lost something. My dad  noticed I had strayed from his side and turned to ask me what I was looking for.

“The dotted lines,” I replied emphatically, as if it were a silly question. “Where are the dotted lines between the lines like the ones on the map at home?”

In my youthful innocence I expected to see a real boundary markers on the ground between Nevada and California just as they appear on any map. I was amazed to learn that the boundaries between states or people need not be walls or dotted lines. They are usually permeable imaginary lines where we consciously choose to cross between one place or another.

In our personal busy-ness we assume the boundaries between us should be walls. We isolate ourselves seeking refuge behind and amazing illusionary barrier of protection offered by the invisible partition between ‘us’ and ‘them’.

We fear we might be hurt. In our attempt to flee our fear, we actually wall it in with us. Unintentionally, we cut ourselves off from feeling the genuine love and compassion that is easily available to us when we trust and expand our willingness to recognize and receive it.

Hurdling boundaries is an evolutionary challenge. It is equally a gift. Boundaries can help to clarify what we really want, and fear can be the reminder to open willingly and consciously. It  need not keep anyone out or wall pain in. The choice is ours.