Exploring the Edges

The start of a typical day in your life: you get up, yawn, and start with your familiar routine. For most of us the day begins well within our comfort zone. But perhaps you know that later this afternoon you have an appointment or activity that is going to push your edges a bit. Even though the event is hours away, maybe there is a little whisper in the back of your mind that is causing you stress. Perhaps you are wishing time would go more slowly and the moment wouldn’t come.

It’s natural for fear and resistance to arise when we meet our edges and must move into the unknown. Our basic instinct is to stay safe. This is true for us as well as for deer in nature. If a deer ventures out from the forest and into an open field, it is more exposed, its camouflage less functional, and it is more visible to predators. It makes sense then to believe it safer to stay right where we are and not venture too far afield. The problem, of course, is that the deer also faces danger if it doesn’t go past the edge: the danger of starvation if it doesn’t access the life-sustaining nutrients that the field provides.

Trackers and naturalists know that the places where life truly thrives is, in fact, at the edges, the places ecologists call ecotones, where a forest meets a field, the ocean meets the shore, or a river slices through a dense jungle. These places are greater than the sum of their parts. They have the resources of both landscapes as well as the unique qualities that can only exist where two worlds meet. These are places of high diversity and abundance, and they hold the seeds for what will come next. We all have edges, and we all need at times to exist in the area past the edge of our comfort zone.

Behavioral psychologists also speak of edges, fear, and growth. They describe zones of comfort, zones of growth, and zones of trauma. These form the baselines and transitional edges that we move through in our lives. Moving from our comfort zone into our growth zone, we may experience fear. Fear may tempt us into always staying where we feel comfortable. The problem is that even if we could stay in our comfort zone forever it is not where we learn, grow, and flourish.

When the deer approaches the edge of forest and field, there may be a very real life-and-death encounter on the other side. When we reach the edge of our comfort zone, even though it may feel like a survival situation, we have to ask ourselves, Is it? Have we entered into the trauma zone, or are we just operating as if we have? If we discover we truly are in the trauma zone, then we certainly want to take a few steps toward safety. Perhaps, however, we are just at the edge of our growth zone?

A great insight of the Buddha involves the concept of the three marks of existence, three fundamental characteristics that describe reality. One of these is anicca—impermanence.

It is a fundamental reality that nothing stays the same for long. Life is always in transition. Each day we are at the edge of what comes next. Our jobs, our relationships, our communities, our own bodies and even minds are always in flux. The question then becomes how we will meet these edges, this constant changing of life. Will we come at them from a place of fear or creativity? Is it possible to meet fear with an openness and sense of wonder?

There is everything right and necessary about relaxing and recharging our batteries: watching a favorite show, eating comfort foods, spending leisure time as it suits us. In excess though, without working out our bodies, spirits, and minds, we become apathetic and lethargic, and lose perspective. The ever-changing landscape of life requires that we move out of our comfort zone and lean into the growth zone. This is what we need to thrive, and the planet needs to heal. It doesn’t mean we are doing something wrong when we experience fear or challenge; it simply means we are alive. Being mindful when we meet our edges and intentional about moving in and out of these different habitats can make all the difference. And, after our forays from the shores and into the river, we can return, relax, and rest once again in what is now an expanded comfort zone.

Try: In a natural area or even on a bustling street in a crowded city, go for a walk with the intention to find the edges. Start with a short standing meditation, focusing on each of your senses in turn. The feel of contact with the earth, the movement or stillness of the air, the scents that come to you, and the sounds that fill your space.

When you are ready, begin to move with this heightened sense of awareness. At the bend in the trail or the turn of a corner, notice if you have come to some type of edge, some different feel in the air or in your body. Pause at these transitions, and allow yourself to experience the old and the new before moving on. It may be any of your senses that tells you things are different. Continue to scan the world around you with each sense as you move. Sometimes you will find the boundaries to be distinct and other times quite subtle. Try this meditation on different days and in different places.

And, in your day-to-day, feel for these ecotones in your own life—the first moments of waking; the edge of an emotion, where it begins or ends; the space where an in-breath becomes an out-breath. Practice bringing a sense of openness and curiosity to what is and what is present.