So difficult sometimes just being family. I don’t want to get into details here, because after all, it is family, but drawing the line between getting involved with helping family, versus taking care of oneself and drawing clear boundaries can be very difficult sometimes. Love is a powerful force, but when love slides into becoming co-dependence, where we assist family in continuing with their lives that are minimally not very healthy, it becomes time to take note and better assess the role we are playing. I’m not saying we should ever give up on loving another, especially family, but clarity and healthy boundaries are very important as well.The 4th of July for me was not Independence Day but rather Co-Dependence Day, and was quite a struggle for me emotionally. I held my ground and did my best to just witness and love, but I have to admit that the world I was part of that day was just not a world that I know or cherish, although there were some incredibly precious moments to cherish as well.
I’ve really needed the support of friends lately, and it feels good to me to be asking for it and receiving it. I have tended in my life to be more or les self-supportive, so asking for support is an important exercise for me. It’s still a marvel, as one of my supportive friends said to me yesterday, that my apple somehow has rolled as far from the tree as it has. I am definitely looking forward to a little monastery time coming up in a week or so, heading to Karma Ling Tibetan Monastery in France. Merci mon Dieu.