Do boundaries offer balance?

a loving embodiment of 'strong back, soft front'

“Strong Back, Soft Front”. I first heard this from my therapist. I can’t remember exactly when or the reason why she offered it. I also can’t recall if she referenced the owner of the phrase. All I know is that it stuck. She gave away so much softness and kindness. I was given nothing but heart wisdom during our years together.

Wisdom is not meant to be held tightly. Indigenous traditions teach us this. No one owns any teaching, nor the wisdom in words strung together. The sentiments must be passed on, down and through our hearts. Wisdom is meant to be shared.

I later researched the origins of this mantra which, in essence, is a direction for embodying a balanced boundary. I like to think of balance as a point that will forever waver. In my plight for balance, I tell myself it can never be attained or clung to, because it needs to shift depending upon the day, the weather, one’s mental or physical state. Whenever I think I’ve found a state of equilibrium, something will happen around me or within me that will require a renegotiation of it - just like setting boundaries. This is I’ve what experienced anyway.