The Circle

"The great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, once said: Here’s how humans make something sacred: You draw a circle around it and you say everything inside this circle is holy. It’s sacred because you said so. That is called a boundary, and a boundary is not a wall. A boundary is not something that you hide behind. A boundary is a golden circle that you draw around the things that matter to you, and you say everything inside this circle is sacred… You get to decide what is sacred. The sacred thing inside the circle can be your time, your creativity, your loved ones, your privacy, your recovery, your values, your mental health, your activism, your joy, your very heart and soul. You yourself can stand at the center of a sacred circle that you drew around YOUR VERY OWN BEING, and say, 'Everything inside this circle is holy.' Not because you think you’re better than anyone else, but because you have humbly accepted stewardship over the divine and mysterious gift of the universe that is YOU.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

Field Notes

There comes a time when you stop waiting for the apology that won’t come,
and instead draw a circle around your life.
Not to keep love out,
but to protect what is sacred within.

You don’t have to explain the boundary to people
who were never willing to see you in the first place.
This is your circle.
You set the terms.

Only those who know how to behave inside the circle
get to stay inside the circle.
Not because you’re cruel,
but because you’re healing.

You are not walking away.
You are claiming space.
And anything that enters now must bring peace, or pass by.

This truth can be passed down.
This circle can be drawn again and again—by you, by others, by those still learning
that their story deserves safety,
and their voice is not too much.