As I have gotten older and look back on my life, the one thing that has always been very important to me is Freedom.

My parents taught me that honesty and freedom are important to living a good life.

Many people I have spoken to throughout my life say that freedom is important to them as well.

Freedom comes with developing an open mind and the honesty to know when we need to set boundaries to improve our lives. These are healthy boundaries.

Our boundaries are a reflection of what we are and what we need to do to bring honesty and freedom into our lives.

Sometimes we set up boundaries as excuses when we can’t be bothered doing things or going places. We think of boundaries as walls to keep people out or to keep us from possible unwanted embarrassing situations.

Looking back through my life, there have been times when I have held back from doing things that I wanted to achieve.

One thing that had a profound effect on my life was giving up my driving licence.

At that time, there were a lot of news stories about car accidents involving older drivers. The sentiment was that as people got older, they were more likely to cause fatal accidents.

This worried me, and although I had a good driving record, the thought of being responsible for someone’s fatality caused me to hand in my licence. This unnecessary action cost me a lot of my freedom, reducing my ability to come and go as I chose. This boundary made me dependent on others. I have since learnt from that mistake.

I am ninety years of age, and I have a heart condition, and when I am asked to go somewhere or do something different. I give it honest consideration, which gives me the freedom I’ve always wanted to live a full life.

We set our own boundaries, after all, they are a reflection of who we are. 

As I have grown older, I have learned that with healthy boundaries, we can better enjoy the wonderful things this life has to offer.

– Nancy