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"It took me almost two thousand miles in the woods to see I had to do some hard work that wasn't simply walking-that I needed to begin respecting my own body's boundaries. I had to draw clear lines. Ones that were sound in my mind and therefore impermeable, and would always, no matter where I walked, protect me. Moving forward, I wanted rules.First-when I felt unsafe I'd leave, immediately. The first time, not the tenth time. Not after a hundred red flags smacked in wind violently, clear as trail signs pointing the way to SNAKES. Not after I'd been bitten-the violation. If I wasn't interested, I would reject the man blatantly."
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"It is very possible to acknowledge another person's concerns without entering into their vibration."
Author Name
Personal Development
"I will feel no guilt on shutting my door to those who didn't listen."
Author Name
Personal Development
"He will not let you come barging in to his world like the proverbial bull in the china shop."
Author Name
Personal Development
"The walls around the hood keep the people on the inside from the changes on the outside."
Author Name
Personal Development
"Sounds naive respecting someone who doesn't give a shit about you."
Author Name
Personal Development
"Okay, but if you try to get me to pray with you, I walk."
Author Name
Personal Development
"Stop raping me with your eyes!"
Author Name
Personal Development
"The way to send a clear message that you are ready for better people in your life is the kick the rascals to the curb."
Author Name
Personal Development
"Wouldn't you rather have the respect of your friends and colleagues than succumb to pressure to do and say things that are out of character in order to feel accepted? You can overcome this habit simply by learning to say "no."
Author Name
Personal Development
"Don't allow someone not worth it to have the power to occupy your thoughts. If they don't find you worth the effort or the time, why should you waste yours?"
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Personal Development
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"The trees were friendly, they gave me rest and shadowed refuge. Slipping through them, I felt safe and competent. My whole body was occupied. I had little energy to think or worry."
Nature
"She taught me only how to need to be taken care of. I was here because I needed to learn to take responsibility for making my own decisions - to earn my own trust."
Responsibility
"The wisdom of my body had cultivated vibrantly since those sadness-drunken months after the rape when I'd felt so numbed by the hurt and shame that I didn't move further. No longer. The way I felt about being sexually shamed had changed. Now I was angry that others were trying to shame my sexuality in the first place. I flushed-this time not in shame-but in rage."
Empowerment
"Death is not a pretty flower that had almost pricked me. It was not a small annoyance I could simply bypass and quickly disregard. It was really The End."
Death
"Though I was starved for contact, I didn't stop to talk to any of these strangers. I had forgotten how to convincingly speak the polite things strangers say to each other."
Loneliness
"I wanted both things: strength in my independence and also this new desire. This felt like the beginning of a new kind of love."
Independence
"I was promising myself strength.I had to write it, say it, make the effort and fake it before I actually believed I could do it."
Strength
"I saw now that bad men existed who would take advantage of any weakness and insecurity they found when violating a victim. I saw it was not my fault; I did not choose to be raped or kidnapped. But now I was learning how to protect myself from the predators, to trust my No and my instinct and my strength. I was learning I was not to blame, I couldn't prevent men from trying to hurt me, but I could definitely fight back. And sometimes fighting back worked."
Survival
"In lovesickness we had found a common language."
Connection
"It took me almost two thousand miles in the woods to see I had to do some hard work that wasn't simply walking-that I needed to begin respecting my own body's boundaries. I had to draw clear lines. Ones that were sound in my mind and therefore impermeable, and would always, no matter where I walked, protect me. Moving forward, I wanted rules.First-when I felt unsafe I'd leave, immediately. The first time, not the tenth time. Not after a hundred red flags smacked in wind violently, clear as trail signs pointing the way to SNAKES. Not after I'd been bitten-the violation. If I wasn't interested, I would reject the man blatantly."
Boundaries
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