Lines drawn in the sand, or in my case on the road.  There is a place on my drive to work where the road is wide enough for two lanes though it isn’t marked that way.  At one point, there are yellow lines on the road to mark the beginning of a left turn lane.  Even though there is nothing in the road to stop it, people change over to the right lane, then move back into the left lane to make their turn. 

This always makes me chuckle.  You can clearly see there is nothing in the road, if you just keep moving forward over the top of those yellow lines, you would be in the left turn lane.  Yet daily, people follow the lines that push them into the right lane before they switch back to make their left turn.

 

It got me to thinking.  What lines in my life do I not cross?  Are there areas where I tell myself I can’t or won’t do something?  Now if someone else told me I couldn’t do something I’d probably do it just to prove them wrong – because I can be a bit perverse that way. 

 

In my crocheting, I say I can’t (more won’t) work with thread because it is too small.  However, I’ve come to wonder if I should make more of an effort as I’ve seen some amazing items made with thread.  Am I losing out because of my stubborn refusal to work with it?  It’s a good question and one I’ll have to challenge myself with as I move forward. 

 

What other areas do I draw a line?  Is the line I’ve drawn healthy?  Is it there for a good reason?  Is it something I should follow (like so many do the lines in the road? 

 

I know I’ve put up walls to prevent certain people from having a toxic effect on my life.  My wall is in essence a line.  Do those people deserve a second chance?  Will letting them back into my life add to my life or have I learned my lesson and put them where they belong? 

How many of our beliefs are like those yellow lines on the floor?  I say I wouldn’t tolerate something – whatever it might be – which is another line.  What would happen if I let that line go and followed the flow? 

 

Here is a silly example.  Growing up my mother was firm you never wore green and blue together or red and pink (I don’t wear these two colors).  I don’t know why she always said that but these were her rules.  If I came down stairs with a green skirt and blue shirt, she would make me go change.  Lines again.  It’s taken me a long time to overcome her strict rules on colors.  When I stopped listening to her in my head, I was able to pair up things that looked good together.  Now this change wasn’t necessarily an AHA! moment but more a well why did I listen to her in the first place.

 

What lines in my life have boxed me in?  When it comes to religion, I’ve had a couple of confrontations with Baptists.  They were unpleasant, biased, and detrimental.  I tried reason (at least I feel I did) but after these incidents, I’ve become very judgmental about Baptists.  I find them difficult at best. 

 

Truly I believe we have to have more tolerance not less.  I believe we should let people live their lives their way, believe what they choose to believe, and not fight over the differences.  Unfortunately, this rarely happens. 

 

As a Pagan practitioner, it’s easy to let ourselves get boxed by the assumption that a Christian couldn’t possibly respect and honor our beliefs.  So many of us read about the burning times and even current times and get a chip on our shoulder about how Christians are.  We draw a line around the belief system, categorize them in a particular way, and dismiss them.  (Or whatever we do based on our experiences.) 

 

If I had done that, I would have missed out on some great relationships and discussions.  Many of my co-workers are Christians yet they have not tried to convert me.  They are respectful of my beliefs and practices. 

 

What lines am I driving around in my life?  It’s a good question….