On Bad Boundaries
People in this day and age, for good reason I might add, in the Western World especially, value “boundaries”. Political, societal, personal. This is key to so many important human laws, and ensures safety for so many, - emotional, physical and spiritual. However in drawing a boundary you are inherently drawing a division. Sometimes ironically we don’t need division, and having boundaries should never be an excuse to feel morally unobliging or ignorant. For example, a man is on a bridge about to jump off, holding onto the railing with his back to the structure and his face to the wind. You see him. My initial reaction would be to run to him to grab his arm, speak to him and reassure him. To save this stranger whom I do not know, to show him he is not alone; to save him. ...
