The Thoughts that Bind

 They were fighting again. It had grown so commonplace now—less of a fright and more of an annoyance at this point, but our new puppy had a different point of view.

  Growing up, I had this friend who liked to quote Oscar Wilde. “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken.” She would tell me that over and over again. While it was an important thing to hear as a pre-pubescent, adolescent, the thought built on itself over the years. With the amount of people who are afraid to be themselves, I’m not sure everyone else is taken.

   There’s a lot of talk in the mental health community about setting boundaries with acquaintances and loved ones. We hear about codependency, independence and interdependence. We wonder what our lives can really get from these concepts. Are you good at setting boundaries? 

When I was a little girl, I was a very honest person. I never saw any reason to lie to anyone, and I could count the times I had done so on one hand. It was a beautiful thing. However, as I got older, I learned a couple lessons about honesty that would change my path forever.

  Self- love has become sort of a buzzword these days, and I’m glad for that because here on the Thoughts that Bind, true self love is a transformative and important journey to undergo. In fact, it informs nearly every post I’ve written on this site. Yet, I feel there are some misconceptions about self-love that are rarely, if ever addressed. It is for this reason that I have chosen to make this article today.

When you’re young, it can be easy to go into life guns blazing. You have dreams, places to go, people to meet and problems to solve. It’s great to have ambition, but what about peace and contentment?