I just returned from a road trip I took with my family leading them on and off the beaten path. It’s amazing what happens when you really pay attention for a while.
During one of our ventures, we paid a visit to The Four Corners – a fascinating area – not because of what’s there, but rather because of what happens there. In a single spot, four states (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) and two American Indian tribes (The Navajo Nation and The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe) have jurisdictional boundaries.
It’s fun to stand there because you’re in six places at once. Well, really, you’re in more than that if you want to get highly technical. However, you’re really only in one place if you think about it some more. Go overboard analyzing the situation, and you can make yourself go a little bit nutty. And, that’s what makes me think …
How do we come up with boundaries? Who creates them and who manages them and who perpetuates them? How is it decided what’s in and what’s out, as well as who’s in and who’s out? Who determines these boundaries? We want or are expected to respect boundaries, but do they really need to exist to begin with? There’s an expectation to fit within the boundaries, so why do they tend to be so exclusive rather than inclusive? What purpose do boundaries serve?
I was recently in the four corners area, too. I wonder if our paths converged or almost converged.