Boundaries

What I’m learning about boundaries:My art has always been open and vulnerable. I love sharing thoughts like this because I believe vulnerability can help people feel less alone, see themselves more clearly, and grow.But lately, life has been teaching me something equally important:Not everyone gets access to me.And I don’t get access to everyone.There are people I love deeply who I’m not ready to share certain parts of myself with yet.There are people I still love—perhaps people I always will—but who have crossed my boundaries. I can hold love for someone without giving them access to me anymore. Love does not automatically equal permission.There are relationships where I need to create more space because my boundaries aren’t being respected, or because the other person cannot respect my pace.There are people who want access to me because of my social clout.And there are people who feel drawn to me because of vulnerable things I share publicly—because something in my words makes them feel deeply seen. But here’s what I’m learning: Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being available. What I share through my art belongs to my creative expression. It doesn’t automatically belong to everyone who connects with it.We are all living through the human condition. I’m not special because I experience grief, love, trauma, longing, joy, fear, or transformation.I’m simply an artist trying to make something meaningful from being human.And maybe that’s why boundaries are such an important part of my art right now.Because the universe seems to be reflecting this lesson back to me from every direction: people overstepping my boundaries, people asking for more access than I’m ready to give, and—perhaps most uncomfortably—moments where I can see that I haven’t always respected someone else’s boundaries as well as I should have.That part is hard to sit with. because my ego can easily slip into shame.But I’m learning that accountability doesn’t have to become shame.I can recognize where I got it wrong.I can understand why I did it.I can apologize when appropriate.And then I can become better.That’s what growth is.I’m learning balance.I don’t want to become so guarded that nobody can reach me.But I also don’t want to keep giving myself away simply because someone reaches for me.Old me might have overshared without discernment.Old me might have given too much too quickly.Old me might have felt an intense connection and immediately wondered, “Where is this going?”New me is learning to pause.To notice.To let people reveal themselves over time.To let trust be earned.To be vulnerable with boundaries.Because vulnerability without boundaries can become self-abandonment.And boundaries without vulnerability can become isolation.I want neither.I want balance:An open heart with a discerning mind.Deep connection without losing myself.Vulnerability without giving everyone the keys to my inner world.I’m learning that I don’t have to close my garden.I just get to decide who I invite inside.And the same words keep ecoing through my head for months”Fear is the dragon garding the treasure”Not everyone gets access to my treasure, and I need to love my dragon for protecting me.