The rules

The rules

They are everywhere. There are signs to caution you for every mis-step, every too hot or wet, frozen lake, under currents, dangerous curves, wrong ways..

Is it human nature to test boundaries or not be able to set them properly?

I was told once, “that back wall is still wet.”

That’s what was said. That’s not what I heard. I didn’t hear don’t touch it. I even asked. “So don’t touch it?”I’m lucky to have a job…I got into fire hydrants paint. It said it was wet but the signs had been out for a few days. Who was checking this? I ended up with paint on my face, my hat and in my hair. Not just paint. Oil based fire hydrant paint. We had to use paint remover to get it off, it nearly took my skin off.

When I go to the woods I see warnings of land boundaries, change of ownership of land, go this way or that way, stay off this, stay on this. These rules are out for those of us who can not lay them out for ourselves. They are also there to preserve this land that is clearly owned by such and such person or government affiliate, or even private property. Why does it belong to anyone? Who gets to decide? I see places I disagree, it’s clear in the maintenance of the land. It’s well done. Man intervened. Their are paved paths. Signs of what not to do, benches to view vistas, too many hard surface lots. Do we need to be told where to sit. I watched one park install new paths specifically because they couldn’t make people use the ones made, now there are options. Go this way for a 2 second longer walk or this way where we cleared our 15 feet of natural land to decide people take the path of least resistance. A 2 second meander to the right saved them countless what?

I’ve worked for a university where we were always giving in. Adding more paths that were paved for the students. These are for the people who will run our world someday. The future stewards of our lands. Or what’s left…They choose a quicker path and we go, ok. Because it tracks in mud, or it looks bad? The campus started to look like a race track, now it’s nearly just a parking lot for walking to and from buildings and beautiful hundred year old trees plopped in barely breathing anymore.

I will ask whenever I get the chance.

What are the rules here? Do I have to sit? Can I stand? Do I have to stay inside? Yes, so then I can’t go outside? Can I touch? Can I go this way? No, so I have to go that way? Should I close my eyes? Can I breath? Can I live? Can I let go? Yes, so it’s ok not to hold on? If it’s not laid out clearly I will decide myself. I need rules laid out for me so I can then lay them out for myself.

Most of our signs and warnings likely come from people who tested the boundaries. I could even be responsible for some of these warnings. Once a girl walked into a backhoe I was running. Smacked her face right into the rig. I was digging for a landscape project, why was she even in this space? How can you not notice it? It became a series of new rules we had to follow to make sure someone doesn’t go astray and walk into a thousand pound bright yellow machine. Maybe the rules should be. Pay attention, walk looking up sometimes, unplug, don’t walk through the lawn when we made you a path right to the door not through the landscaping.

We need to keep people safe. Is that it? We should be watching out for ourselves. Taking some of the responsibility.

How many disasters did I prevent by cautioning my kids? How many near misses were there? Almost drowned, almost hit by a car? Almost burned from the stove?

Somehow in this dangerous world full of cautions and rules I’ve managed to keep myself and 4 humans alive. Maybe even others? The rules aren’t trying to control the world or the fun. They are basically saying pay attention because someone else didn’t.