Boundaries

Communities are identified by borders. Unlike physical structures, these borders are porous. This poorly defined border is where intermingling, action, innovation and renewal happens. I live in a lot of these border areas. I am in between American friends and Indian parents. A culture of East and of West, and with apologies to Kipling, they often meet. An older brother and a younger one. Black and white. Spicy food and cold cuts. My business and my studies. Soccer and golf. Adulthood and adolescence. Working hard and playing hard. Skiing and snow shoveling. True choices and false dichotomies. Fascination with religious beliefs and repulsion with them. There are a lot of us, not just surviving, but growing and blossoming at boundaries.

Sometimes the community of in-betweeners gets lonely and confusing. But supports and firmer boundaries are close by. We can travel to one, rest and rejuvenate, and come back and explore again. We are supple but we are tough. That is my group: the adaptable and the resilient.