I'm comfortable speaking my mind and sharing an opinion. What I've discovered over the course of the past year is that I wasn't comfortable, or very skilled at, marking boundaries.
Honestly, I didn't even realize that boundaries were a problem for me until a friend shared her opinion that she felt I was a person with very little boundaries, and that in that open field I lay myself down for what may come.
A bit rough to hear about yourself, and certainly information that I did not deny. At the time I was overwhelmed by its power because come on, who wants to know that you've lacked guile?
Curiously or not, the very reason I stopped practicing acupuncture was because of my inability to protect myself; the responsibility felt too great to carry and I remain convicted that I chose correctly.
I guess she who lives in a glass house, right?
Marking boundaries is about speaking my truth with peace and love. Even when the truth is not what another wants to hear, by harboring and editing my feelings, I do no one any service, something I had to learn the hard way.
What I've had to learn/continue to learn/will probably always be learning, is how to set boundaries for others. So I'm not the receptacle and dump site for anyone else's bullshit.
I do not need to take on another story, especially a story that is not my own. I do not need to hold space for false connection or compassion. It's about finding a balance and realizing that the scales will sway either way, always.
We appear to be sharing a head. Maybe we just rent it during certain hours; I have it while you sleep and vice versa.
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