Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Boundaries
There are a lot of different ways to define/explain boundaries such as something showing where one thing ends and another begins, or another perspective is the limits and rules we set for ourselves within relationships. One simple one that I like is from Brene Brown - define what is ok and not ok. Regardless of how you define the word boundary, it is something that I am not great at navigating or setting up/sticking to. I’m a people pleaser by nature which lends itself to flexible/nebulous/nonexistent boundaries - leading to me often feeling less than comfortable in some situations.
I’ve been working on trying to be more intentional about identifying boundaries and acknowledging when I don’t stick to them - for example, a few months ago I wanted to go for a photography shoot at Frank Lake which meant getting up early to get there before sunrise. Kory wanted to do work on his studio and needed my help - you can already imagine the conflict going on inside of me.
Compasses and Directions
I’ve had some interesting conversations lately about the future, direction and purpose of life and while sometimes these conversations can be a bit daunting and heavy - especially when the forward path is murky and unclear - I have been finding myself uplifted by them.
I was recently asked to participate in a luncheon for a youth group with members nearing the end of high school and next life steps looming for the students. A group of “elders” and recent graduates were asked to provide a slide with information about their career, what made them get into their career, what sustained them and also what advice they’d give to someone considering this career. It really got me thinking back a few years as I’ve just passed 3 years in retirement after a 38 year working life.
I approached my slide as though I was speaking to a younger version of myself and trying to tap into my motivations and advice.
Authenticity - how being me is enough
I think that despite how much we strive to be authentic and project our real selves, we all have various masks or versions of ourselves that we show to the world. I don’t mean that we are fake or trying to hide behind made up images of our selves (though some people do this), but rather that in different situations we show up slightly differently - I know that I do.
Some people who have known me for a long time are a bit surprised to read my blog writings and find out things about me that they didn’t know. It’s not that I’ve hidden these parts of myself from them, but they didn’t come up in the context of how we’ve known each other.
For example, I had Corporate Pam (projecting a professional version of Pam), Fun Friend Pam (more silly and open to sharing personal parts of me), then there was Daughter Pam (caring for aging parents - one with dementia - see this post) and then there is Wife Pam