Goddess Ishtar
Boundaries
(pronounced ish-tahr)
Ishtar, Goddess of Boundaries tells us to "Love yourself enough to say no to others' demands on your time and energy."
I feel like this is something we all need to hear at one time or another. There are so many of us that allow other people to dictate our lives. They ask, or often tell us to do things for them and we nearly jump at the opportunity. If you grew up in a care giver role like I did than you know that it's incredibly hard to set that boundary for yourself. The word "no" can be one of the scariest things in the world. We immediately think of the consequences that will happen as a fall out to that one small word. But that word isn't small, is it? That word is HUGE. That word holds a ton of power. We regain some of our power, every time we put that boundary into place. Don't get me wrong, it can be incredibly hard to use that word.
Story Time
When one of my sisters was a new mom, she depended on me a lot. She expected me to babysit at the drop of a hat, go get the kids from school, do their hair, among other things. I always did these things without really thinking about the stress it was putting on me. One day I told her, "no". There was a long silence, followed by a threat, "you'll never see my kids again." I was devastated. This went back and fourth for a bit before I finally stuck to my guns and said, "no". Not only do I not have to do these things, but I don't want to. I didn't have kids at that point in my life and the burden of that responsibility should not have been so heavy on my shoulders. I don't mind helping, I don't mind going out of my way sometimes, I absolutely mind being taken advantage of though. I absolutely minded being expected to drop my plans and to make it work. My sisters and I are actually very close. It didn't ruin our relationship when I decided to start saying no. It just showed them that I was setting a boundary there. Boundaries are healthy, they show people where your line is. It's up to them to decide whether or not they can handle your boundaries, that burden doesn't fall on you.
Boundaries
When Ishtar shows up in a reading I know that my client is likely having a hard time setting boundaries in his or her life. I know that there is some line that is often being crossed by someone in their life. This is where you and I need to have a conversation. What boundary is being crossed for you? Who are you allowing to trespass, where you are comfortable? Is it a big deal or is it more minor? Depending on the position of this card in a reading I can usually tell if this is going to be a hot button issue or if something small needs to get addressed. If you know of someone in your life that often gets taken advantage of or used, you likely wish they would change the allowing of that behavior to happen. So why are we so ready to allow it to happen to ourselves? Why don't we deserve the same respect? These are all important questions to ask ourselves. Afford yourself the same love and respect you show other people. Be just as worthy as your best friend or close family. You are not worth less, you are worth just as much, if not MORE. Don't be afraid to set those boundaries and prove your worth to yourself.
As always, I hope you found this article informative and interesting. If you feel the need to reach out to me, please do so. You can reach out via email or by messenger on Facebook.
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