Rules.

We need them. They are like guardrails for our safety, our well-being, and our peace of mind. What feels like a risky journey is made secure and free of worry by the guidelines, laws, and rules of our societies.

When rules function as our boundaries, our structure to our otherwise aimless endeavors, they comfort us. But when our rules become our journey, our primary focus, the purpose for the trip itself, we have become prisoners of our own safety nets.

How does this happen?

It usually has to do with fear.

The more we fear a journey or a destination, the more rules we can attempt to surround ourselves with. In this sense, our rules become an excuse, a cover, a barrier we hide behind, so that we don’t have to deal with whatever lies in front of us. Rules when out of hand can be …