Someone else's rules

What are some limits imposed on you by an external authority or by a social consensus, limits that seem arbitrary and that you don't agree with?

This week's theme is barriers and limits.

Dream police

In your dreams, what kinds of rules do you break? And what kinds of interactions do you have with enforcers and authority figures?

Are there parallels with the way authority figures show up in your waking life?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

Denied!

Was there any activity your parents expressly forbade you to do, or people they didn't want you to see? How did that impact your life as an adult?

This week's theme is your parents.

With friends like these

What's important to you in your friendships? Do you have any "deal breaker" behavior that would cause you to reevaluate a friendship?

This week's theme is important things.

Brave new world

How would the world be different if everyone took you as their model of normal social behavior, and conformed to your example?

This week's theme is rules.

That thing you do/have/are

If you have something about you that is a constant source of outside attention for being different, unusual, or somehow contrary to the perceived rules of normality, do you have a stock response for people who mention it? How long have you had this stock response, and what is the genesis of it?

This week's theme is rules.

Lightbulb moment

Did you ever have a moment of epiphany wherein you realized that most of the rules didn't actually matter? What caused that realization? Did it change the way you related to the rules from that time on?

This week's theme is rules.

Rule breaker

What childhood rules didn't you follow? Are you still breaking those rules to this day?

This week's theme is rules.

Rules

Our lives are dictated by rules: rules set by others that we perceive we have to follow, as well as the rules we set for ourselves. Some rules are extremely important to follow (I'm thinking about some signs I saw on our recent vacation indicating that to proceed any farther on tricky terrain would be hazardous to your health!), while others are decidedly arbitrary.

When you were a child, what rules did you follow? Do you still notably follow those rules?

This week's theme is rules.

The secret back door

Did you ever bend the rules to get into a place or event where, strictly speaking, you weren’t allowed? What was the place or event, and what was your clever way of getting in?

This week's theme is long-term memory.

Pet peeves

As cat owners, we are sometimes chagrined to be accosted in pet stores by large, friendly dogs who want to deposit saliva on us: cat owners usually do not bring their pets shopping! What are some of your pet peeves about pet ownership?

This week's theme is you and your pets.

If you could break the rules

Thinking about where you are in your life right now, what are the rules that keep you stuck? And what would become possible if you were willing to break the rules?