Know Your Rope

My brother and I walked the dog today, and after we had been walking for a while, we thought we'd rest by sitting under the shade of the tree. To keep the dog secure, we tied the dog's leash, a long rope, around the base of the tree, making sure to pick a tree thin enough that the dog would have enough rope to move around. Naturally, being tethered to the tree would limit her movement, but if she used her movement intelligently, she'd have a decent radius of distance to work with.

Unfortunately for the dog, that's not what happened. She walked herself around the tree until her leash was so wrapped up, she had very little room to move. Had she been more intelligent and thought more carefully about the length of rope she had to work with and how she could use it, she could have maintained a great deal of freedom instead of wrapping her rope up unhelpfully.

We are all in a similar situation. We're all tied to something, figuratively speaking. Yet, the better we understand the ropes that bind us to one place, idea, or person, the better use we can make of the amount of space available to us. For example, I live in Sacramento and have limited travel options. Basically, I can bike, take Regional Transit, and occasionally ask people for rides. Still, that leaves me with a lot of area I can explore and a lot of great places I can reach. Sure, I can't get to the beach, for example, but I know spots along the river that are fairly beach-like, and I can pretty easily get there.

I also try to understand the limits of my understanding. I evaluate the information I come across, and I use the trustworthy information I've collected to try to draw reasonable conclusions, expanding my understanding. I also try not to tie myself to too many ideas that I know are wrong. Attending college as a Christian, I know that not everything I hear is true and good, so I have to take what I hear with a grain of salt and compare it to what I already know is true. The better I understand my beliefs, the better I can evaluate the beliefs and teachings of others.

All of us have constraints to work within, but the better we understand our constraints, the better we can work within them, giving us a great deal of freedom, even while we remain bound to the places, people, and ideas that matter most to us. Such bonds may sometimes feel restrictive, but they are much less so to those who know their ropes.