Question

Personal Reflection 10: Boundaries

1. Visualize your personal boundary around you. Consider what it looks like, do you imagine it to have a particular colour(s)? Does it have a sound(s)? What is it’s texture? Is it soft or hard, malleable or ridgid?

In 4-5 sentences describe your personal boundary. Alternatively, you can draw an image to represent it instead.

Answer 1

Since this is a personal reflection exercise, you can answer this the best. You can make use of these pointers while reflecting and answering these questions:

1) How close is the boundary to the physical space your body occupies? Is it very close? Or far apart? Also, is it rigid? Or does it hand loosely? A rigid boundary could specify strict rules about who is let into the boundary and who is not; while a loose, flexible, or changing boundary could indicate a more open minded and flexible approach regarding who walks in and who walks out of the boundary. Maybe this is a reflection of the kind of relationships you wish to have or entertain or tend to get into in your life- a more spontaneous and relaxed approach vs. a more planned and cautious approach.

2) Colours are indicative of general mood states. A white colour could indicate a desire for simplicity and purity, multiple colours could indicate a penchant for the vivid and the lively, a blue colour could indicate calm. So, you can accordingly see whether any colours are attached to your boundary.

3) Sounds could be of immense relevance to you if you like music or are involved in a musical pursuit. Does the visualization of the boundary invoke a specific song? Or a tune? It could be a gentle, chiming melody; or a more upbeat melody. Maybe the sound is indicative of an important aspect of your personality, getting conveyed to other people; or maybe it is a message that you wish to convey to other people who approach you. Or maybe there is no sound needed, and you think that silence is perfectly okay as well.

4) Textures can also signify different things. A satiny or soft texture could signify sensuousness and fragility; a silky texture could signify sophistication; a more plain texture such as that of cotton could signify groundedness and practicality.

You can use these indicators to describe your personal boundary, and also include your own thoughts and feelings about whether and how satisfied you are with the way your personal boundary is, and whether you would want to change anything about it.