Boundaries are dumb.
Limits are stupid.
The American Dream is to be everything that you want to be and to do whatever it takes to get there. I am told by music not to let anyone tell me what to do. I am told by philosophy that rules are just a social construct and that right and wrong are relative. Movies show me that literally anything is possible, I can get a good laugh out of a crowd, and even the law can be broken if it is for the right reasons. I do not need religion or God telling me what I can and cannot do. If it makes me happy and doesn’t hurt anyone else, then I can do whatever I feel like doing. That is true Self-Empowerment. I have the right to enjoy life the way I see fit.
Does that not sound like an ideal society?
A perfect world?
Millions and billions of people doing whatever they feel like doing in the moment.
I once ran as far as I could barefoot down a creek in a forest, far past the boundary that my father had given me. It was exhilarating. It was just me, the shallow running water, and the random seashell that I stepped on and got lodged up into my heel. I had to almost limp all the way back to my family, while my foot nearly bled out. The journey of pain felt like an hour of endless torment with each step. Beyond the eyesight and earshot of my father, I considered how I could have worn shoes, how I could have stayed within his boundaries, and how I could have either never stepped on this dang seashell or at least had someone with me to carry me.
I realize that not going that far or choosing to wear shoes might be common sense to some people. Honestly, common sense is not as common as some might think.
How many times, in the heat of the moment have you done something that you either instantly regretted, or regretted later on?
How many of those times was there some form of a rule or boundary in place that you chose to ignore?
Even though humanity often spits on and criminalizes limits, humanity needs them. I wrote in a previous article about human nature. Because of human nature, rules and boundaries are actually helpful; not just to protect society, but to protect individuals as well.
Yes, there should be a level of common sense and personal responsibility in every person, but that is where internal boundaries are just as important as external ones. It will not end well for me to have rules set for me by some government or authority and for me to imagine myself breaking those rules all day long. What every person dwells on in thought, he or she will carry through to action. Psychology confirms this.
If you only view rules, limits, and boundaries as things that hold you back, then you miss the beauty of what has been set in place to protect you from potentially harmful circumstances.
True personal responsibility is not “rushing into a situation or decision and then braving the consequences.” True personal responsibility is “recognizing that you have a choice to make and that you have the freedom to choose not to do something.”
It sounds weird, but the Bible says that “all things are permissible to me, but not all things are beneficial.” This means that through the work of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, I’m no longer forced to obey my feelings, desires, emotions, and needs. I am now free to choose not to do certain things that will harm me or others around me.
The American Dream may be to have no limits and do what makes you happy, but without boundaries, you will never find happiness.
Set limits in your life.
Don’t be like everyone else, jumping from emotion to emotion, from feeling to feeling.
