Thoughtful quote Kat: I'm going to download it for future reference. I use a related analogy with my students. A cell is kept together by its ability to decide what is going to come within its boundary -- it is often pumping out incoming water and other fluids and crap to keep from disintegrating. The problem with the language of boundaries is that it suggests something completely separate -- 10 acres, a shotgun and a barbed wire fence. A cell has a "semi-permeable membrane" which keeps it connected to the outside, and yet allows for some control over what will come in and go out. It is that "semi-permeable integrity" that my students forget about in their enthusiasm for a world of ecological interconnectedness. I remind them that the world is in some aspects over-interconnected -- it is the ability to filter as a process of building your integrity that is critical.
yours, Peter T.