They’re not the same. We often must pass through boundaries to move towards horizons.
Which can be unnerving.
Boundaries anchor us, especially when we’re tired – mentally, but also emotionally, spiritually, even physically:
‘As in the case of lines, you are likely to stop when you are no longer sure you should go further – at the near edge of the region of uncertainty.*
Boundaries tells us we’ve done enough; horizons remind us we can always go further.
If we want to progress, we will need to stop speaking the language of boundaries and begin speaking the language of horizons.
Which can be unnerving.
The prophet knows this. She describes the way things are, discerns what is important and what is possible, and then discovers new ways towards the future horizons**.
The language of boundaries can be nice and polite, even tough and debating, but the language of horizons is inquiring and reflective, and can become generative and find people in their flow of creativity.
(*From Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow.)
(**Describing, discerning, and discovering are the triad of leadership abilities included by Alex McManus in Makers of Fire.)