Wandering around NW Portland, I see a lot of urban trees. They get planted in small little squares like they’re only ever going to grow so big.
When they start out, in the words of Bob Ross, they’re happy little trees. Happy little trees that people tend to scatter around wherever they want, without considering that in 10-20-40 years they are quite possibly going to be sidewalk-eating giants.
So then what happens? Eventually, if the tree was not selected and planted carefully, it outgrows the allotted space. It breaks apart the concrete around it and ruins the sidewalk, or it’s roots get all bound up and pinched trying to stay within the concrete boundary. Either the tree breaks what’s around it or the tree itself starts to break.
At the very least, they look uncomfortable:
Some kinds of trees flourish in a constrained space. They don’t want to spread out. Others need more room to grow. Maybe their roots are larger. Maybe they need more enrichment than the assigned space contains.
You know where I’m going with this–I’m going back to people. People do the same thing as trees planted in a concrete cage. We need a certain amount of space, a certain amount of freedom, a certain amount of physical and mental nourishment. If we don’t get it, sometimes we break things around us like a tree cracks apart a sidewalk. Aggression, assault, robbery. Sometimes we turn against ourselves, like the tree in the box with it’s roots all scrunched in, gradually dying. Eating disorders, heart attacks, stress.
For some of us, small towns mean small minds and small opportunities. For others, they mean the comfort of family and friends. Is it restrictive or comforting? It depends on who you are. It depends on the people around you. It depends on the place.
Sometimes other people put us in boxes. Boss teacher mother sister friend lover. Sometimes we put ourselves in them. Responsible lazy smart funny.
Are any of the boxes useful? Do they make us feel safe at the cost of growth, or do they give us some structure to work with?
How do you know the difference between a comfortable box, and a box you are hiding in? How do you know when your box has gotten too small and needs to be smashed? How do you know when you’re asking too many questions?
I dunno. I’m just a chick with a blog. I make stuff up, and I write it down.