Behind the house is a garden, held in by a tall wood fence wrapped around the perimeter. Stepping stones mark a path leading to a woodworking shed at the back of the garden. The grass is tall and interspersed with dandelions and bluebells.
It's nighttime, and my partner and I are visiting a carpenter to look at some benches for our home. He has invited us to his studio to look at several pieces. He makes benches out of concrete and wood.
I am standing beside an apple tree, its branches covered in blossoms. My partner leans in and smells the blossoms. 'They smell like roses,' his eyes widen as he says this. I lean in and smell the flowers. I am surprised by how the blossoms smell. 'Yes, they do! '
I look at him momentarily and then up at the space around me. The garden feels held, private, and hidden away from the rest of the world. I notice the texture of the wood on the fence posts. Some areas are covered in patches of green moss. Standing tall the fence provides a sense of holding and creates a boundary between one yard and the next.
Usually I don’t pay much attention to fences, but today I noticed how comforting a boundaried space can be. In a new city and country, I am still getting a sense of how I fit into this place, where the edges of my being meet my environment, what I am bringing with me and what I left behind. In some moments, I want to build a fence, a structure, whether it's imagined or real, that offers a sense of space by creating a border around me. I want to create space where I can relax into my being, where I feel held by a larger boundary.
Last week, someone spoke about a boundary as the place where something ends and something begins. An hour later, another person spoke about boundaries as drawing a line and saying no to something that felt out of alignment.
A few other thoughts about boundaries come up. I think to myself: Borders and boundaries have been a theme this month. They have come up in conversations with my friends, family and partner. I used to think of boundaries as something I or another person asserted. Sometimes, I would draw boundaries to protect myself or conserve my energy. But like this fence, boundaries can also create a space that allows uninhibited growth. Keeping outside influences out, fences and boundaries can create a microworld in which new plants and forms of life can thrive.
I experienced boundaries at the border - when I learned I could not bring my things into Canada - through this experience, I felt what it was like to have a boundary placed upon me that limited my actions and put constraints on my behaviour. At some level, this felt constricting - a few days later, this fence is helping me see that I can relate to boundaries differently, as structures that create a sense of solitude and allow something to grow without too much disruption.
Are there areas in your life where a boundary would be supportive? If so, how can you create one and what might it look like?
What I’m reading
Social Poetics as Management Inquiry: A Dialogical Approach, by Ann Cunliffe
In this article, Cunliffe explores how meaning arises in dialogue including subtle gestures, metaphors and the rapport between the people engaged in conversation.
She offers examples from interview transcripts to highlight how different layers of communication can be present in a single moment. I have been revisiting this article as I rewatch the interviews for my research, to gain additional insight into the symbolic dimension of each conversation. You can access the article here
Works in the Centre
July 12th, 3:30-5:30 pm PDT// July 13th, 8:30-10:30 am AEST
Works in the Centre is a 2-hour session that includes inner work, a demo of me working with someone in the centre, a discussion during which we look at the process structure, and time to practice. When I work with someone, I also learn a great deal. Each time, the work is different and invites me to think on my feet. In the session, I will share my thoughts with all of you, and together we will explore different directions the work could take together. Learn more and register here.
Do you ever feel like there are many pieces of information floating around in your mind, and while you have a sense that these pieces may be connected you don’t yet see how they fit together? Or maybe you have an idea for a project that you want to create, but are having trouble actualising.
Sensemaking and super vision is a 45min session intended to focus on a specific question, so you can understand the dynamic at play and gain a clearer understanding of your relationship to the issue and how to approach that situation. The intention is to notice the different pieces map them out and explore how they can weave together. Learn more and book here