Lately, I’ve been reflecting on boundaries - not just the idea of setting them, but the reality of keeping them, especially when you’re someone who feels deeply. Someone who struggles with anxiety. Someone who wants to be kind, to be helpful, to be liked. And truthfully? That someone is me.
For so much of my life, I’ve found it hard to say no. I worried that I’d disappoint people, be seen as difficult, or be left out of something important. I’ve said yes when I was exhausted, agreed to things that didn’t feel right, and taken on more than I had the capacity for - over and over again.
It’s only in recent months, through my craft and this quiet little life I’m building, that I’ve begun to unlearn the belief that I owe everyone access to my time, my energy, or my peace.
Through slow living, I’ve come to understand that boundaries aren’t walls. They’re gentle guides. They say, this is what I need to feel safe, to feel whole, to feel like myself.
Running Herbs and Homesteading has been both a blessing and a mirror. When I’m in the garden harvesting blooms for a new wreath, or pouring candles in a quiet kitchen with golden light spilling through the window, I feel anchored. But when I overcommit - when I take on too much, or say yes out of guilt instead of alignment - I feel the anxiety creep in like a storm.
It’s been a rocky road. Some days I still feel like I’m failing at it. I say yes when I shouldn’t. I bite my tongue when I want to speak. I feel the familiar tightness in my chest when I know I’ve let myself down again.
But I’m learning.
I’m learning that protecting my peace doesn’t make me selfish - it makes me sustainable.
I’m learning that my worth isn’t tied to how much I do for others.
I’m learning that rest is not a reward, and saying no doesn’t make me unkind - it makes me honest.
Slow living has become my compass. It reminds me to breathe deeply, to create intentionally, to move at the pace of nature - not the pace of pressure.
So if you’re like me - navigating anxiety, people-pleasing, and the aching need to be everything to everyone - I want you to know you’re not alone. This is a journey, not a destination. There will be stumbles, and you’ll likely say yes to the wrong things again. But each time you honour yourself, even in a small way, you plant a seed.
And in time, that seed becomes a garden.
Boundaries are how we bloom.
Have a wonderful week, beautiful ones.
With love and wildflowers,
Kels x