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November 09, 2004
boundaries
this is not entirely safe for work, as it describes some of the gross things that cross my personal boundaries, so click the MORE link at your own risk....
:|:
personal boundaries are funny. once you think you've located one... check again in a few years and you may find it's gone away.
today i was thinking about pine state. that lead me to thinking about suckdog, and in particular a suckdog performance described by, i think, skip elsheimer.
i found a boundary when i read that show description. i realized that i would never really want to see a live performance that involved people licking their own vomit off the floor and applying bathroom plungers to each other as anal probes.
yep. boundary. it's still there.
but if i think back on the boundaries i started with... stuff that made me really uncomfortable as a teenager, like people smoking pot, most of it is no big deal any more. take a few risks... try some new stuff... let a friend push you a little... these boundaries get worn down and disappear.
sometimes, locating a boundary can actually be an invitation to experiencing something new and liberating or consciousness-raising. some people say, "follow your bliss", but i think "follow your fear" can be just as wise.
i guess that's why, when i find someone who seems unusually pure for their age, a little naive or inexperienced, i often feel a strong desire to push their boundaries, to get them to experience things they haven't yet... things they might not seek out or... even want to experience. i want to see them let down their boundaries and open up to new things, cool things. well, things i think are cool.
i dunno, do other people have this impulse? i guess they must... in fact, now that i think about it, although i had one friend in high school who seemed to want to protect my purity, other folks clearly felt differently and took pride in being the first to get me high or initiate me in other ways.
maybe we need better initiation rituals in this culture.
Posted by lisa at November 09, 2004 10:27 PM | TrackBack
Comments
I always find it surprising how many people still talk about Pine State, especially when they drove more people out of venues than any band I've ever known.
Posted by: pinky on November 10, 2004 02:23 PM
pinky, pine state only drove people scared of catching on fire from venues. i tried to see every show. :-)
and lisa, the CD you made me pushes my boundaries more than a little...
Posted by: christa on November 10, 2004 02:26 PM
i found every pine state show i saw to be exhilirating and like christa tried to see every show i could.
i was also mad for crash worship, around the same time. i never did see survival research labs, but they are still around and i still hope to. now THAT'S a boundary-pusher...
Posted by: lisa on November 10, 2004 04:04 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.