Boundaries and Barriers
by Alan Honyestewa
How do boundaries and barriers affect my lifestyle? Well, to me, they happen every day--from getting up in the morning to going back to bed at night. There are many different types of boundaries that I face. Some are good and some are bad. For instance, when I wake up in the morning all of the blankets I use provide a barrier from the cold. Without some kind of cover--especially if you're outside camping or sleeping outside during the winter--you wouldn't be able to keep yourself warm. Instead, you could freeze or die from exposure. Other barriers are walls, windows, and doors to my house. Through the openings of doors and windows, I can regulate who or what can come in or out of my house. The downside is, in an emergency, these things can be blocked off leaving no way to get out.
In addition to house walls, classroom walls provide barriers. It keeps other classrooms from interfering with the one you're in. It would be hard to pay attention to one instructor in a class if there were two other classes in the exact same room going on at the exact same time. With the boundaries of walls in each classroom, you only hear and see what's going on in your classroom. All these things relate to the cell membrane, because blankets regulate temperature, or homeostasis, and the windows and doors let things in and out without rupturing the walls (cell).
Boundaries can be good and bad in this crazy world; it just all depends on who you ask.