Fives and Personal Space

Known as “The Observer” or “The Investigator”, Fives are blessed with curious, insightful, and innovative minds. At times, however, they can feel as if the world is demanding way too much of them, and they can give in to habitual patterns of withdrawing and withholding. Of all the types, Fives can be the most concerned about protecting their resources, including their time, energy, and personal space (as you will see in the poem below).

We all have a bit of point Five in us, struggling with the demands of the world. Can we learn to set appropriate boundaries, while also engaging fully with life?

(A couple of notes about Auden’s vocabulary: pagus is a Roman word for tribal territory; and demesne is a historical term for land that is attached to a manor – you get the idea!)

This is I have No Gun, But I Can Spit, by W.H. Auden…

Some thirty inches from my nose The frontier of my Person goes, And all the untilled air between Is private pagus or demesne. Stranger, unless with bedroom eyes I beckon you to fraternize, Beware of rudely crossing it: I have no gun, but I can spit.

- I Have No Gun, But I Can Spit

by W.H. Auden