Because of living, in general, I have boundary lines. A lot of them are generally pretty standard. Some of that stuff we learned in kindergarten. Others aren't so easily defined, but fall more to my comfort levels based on lessons of being burned, etc. previously by exes, various family and friends. Those get to be a bit more hair trigger. Especially depending upon the experience/reason behind why that line is there.
12 years of "Joint Custody" with my ex was full of landmines and sand traps. Lots of trial and error. Out of that came patience, the ability to step back when necessary and to know which battles were important - which ones to let slide.
There are boundary / comfort lines I keep up. Helps to keep things calm. If someone has hurt me and others, they do get kept at arms length. Yep, I can hold a bit of a grudge for a while. At least until I can figure out why it is I'm really angry. And often it is because I've let someone get close to me and they've really hurt me or someone close to me.
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
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“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.”
"It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on Earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one we had."
---Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
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