Boundaries or Boundless, That is the Question

At some point, you realize that not everything — and not everyone — gets to come with you.

This one is about the quiet, hard, necessary work of letting go. Of the relationships that drain you. The obligations that were never really yours. The version of yourself you kept around just to make other people comfortable. Letting go isn’t giving up. It’s making room.

Layered sage and forest green upper wings, soft and full like a deep exhale — edged in warm gold and blush, a reminder that release can be beautiful. Lavender and periwinkle lower wings outlined in deep green, open and unhurried. Purple antennae reaching up, not out — finally pointing toward yourself.

Boundaries aren’t walls. They’re wings.

Original acrylic on 5×5 birch wood block · One of a kind · From the Getting Through the Ugly collection by Lori Friedrichs