If you were to stand on top of a mountain in an area where land was owned, boundaries would be easily seen, marked by fences, streets and structures that confine. But if you were to imagine that I am my own mountain, that you are your own beautiful valley, and that your neighbor is unchartered wilderness, the boundaries might be harder to know. Especially if you don’t really recognize yourself. But boundaries are part of good mental health.
Many of us worry more about fixing others, over our own needs because our own needs are too much. We built a life where trust is complicated. We say you can trust me, but I don’t really trust you. We have been hurt deeply; so much so that we never really came back. We can’t really trust ourselves, but we will fix you.
That’s why boundaries are hard to understand. Boundaries feel bad if you don’t understand them, if you are not on stable ground, if you need to be in control, if you are not used to getting your needs met by anyone other than yourself. If we are talking about property rights, you might be able to understand because there are contracts and laws involved. But since we are talking about my heart, you expect free range because that is what you have always taken. Yet that is not the way I have built the life I live now.
Now I want to be myself.
If you wanted to have a party in my garden on a specific day and the details worked for both of us, we could have a great day. But if my mother-in-law died and my wife is struggling, and my chronic illness is flaring and my cancer came back and I can’t handle the noise and mess of the party, I would expect you would have compassion. I would expect that you would understand that we would probably postpone or maybe cancel the party, or at least that you would find another place to have your party. Even if you had already invested in repairs to the garden, bought all the garden furniture and even had a gardener come to make the yard perfect. I know it would be an expense to you, and I would do what I could to make it up to you later, but it would be the thoughtful thing to do.
I don’t live in a world that is thoughtful. I know this, but I have built a world that I choose to live in that is thoughtful, or at least I try to be as much as possible. When I am upset, I dream about what I could do to help myself feel better. I know I might not be able to do it, or it might take me a long time to be able to afford it, but it gives me hope. I sent thank you notes and birthday cards, when I remember; chronic pain and memory loss sometimes make it hard to be as thoughtful as I want to be, but I keep trying. I am not casual about relationships, so I can’t have a lot of close ones, because it takes a lot to take care of myself and my family.
Personal boundaries are new to me. I learned then in therapy and reading books and I am still learning them. Emotional or behavioral limits or any limits that I got to pick were not something I was not taught growing up. We just didn’t know how. These limits are meant to make me feel safe and respected and heard in relationships and I like it.
Today I heard Michael Thompson, an influencer I listen to, say: Love yourself to be yourself.” I love this. We need to be free to be ourselves and we need to let others be themselves. We sometimes also need to set limits on how much time we give to people who haven’t learned how to let us be ourselves.
That is something my friend Linea taught me. She told me that if someone is not allowing you to be yourself than you need to decide how much time you are going to allow them to have in your life. This is the hard part. Because when you love someone and you want to be around them, but they keep overstepping your boundaries, eventually you have to decide how much time you can give them. I don’t respond well to criticism. I shut off. It is my natural response to it. Pushing me has the same effect. It isn’t that I don’t like to be told what to do, at this point in my life, I know I have the right to choose, and I just stop when you disrespect me. I don’t have to let you finish your explanation; I don’t have to let you have your way, if you were hitting me, you would know it was abuse, but words hurt sometimes more than fists.
I have built the life I want. I don’t care if I am not wealthy, I will never change how I think or live. Money is a tool. When I am overwhelmed, the bible will always be where I go, because that is where I find what I am looking for. If I am being pushed, I will push people away because I do not respond well to being pushed, I never have. I don’t have to be what other people want me to be. I was not created to make anyone, other that God happy, and He delights in me. I love people, but I love me and out of the abundance of love that is in me, that is found in Christ, I love others.
I understand not trusting people. Every person I have every trusted has failed me. Some people can’t be let back in, because they did not repent. The definition of repentance is to feel sincere regret or sorrow about something you did that was wrong and then make a conscious effort to change your behavior. We don’t talk about this enough: not in church or anywhere. But this is important. You can’t just say you are sorry. You have to try to change. I have forgiven people, but they didn’t change. They didn’t try to make themselves a safe space for me so I can’t allow them access to me. Part of loving myself is protecting myself from unsafe people.
This is good mental health. I love you. Be Blessed.
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Feel free to leave your comments below!
My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Jesus Follower, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Jesus Follower…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.
If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.
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