In a world where laptops, smart phones, social media accounts, wireless and broadband internet and TV are the norm ~ it’s become much easier to do more {not necessarily more effective}, and be accessible 24-7, whether it’s for work or personal interests.
In fact, these behaviours are revered in today’s culture.
It’s cool to have the latest gadget and apps.
It’s cool to busy.
It feeds the ego to be busy, to get attention on social media.
{Being busy also masks feelings of loneliness.}
Not only that, never has it been easier to see what everyone is up to.
This can create the fear of missing out, not having enough, or worse, not being enough ~ which may lead you to have desires that are not necessarily aligned with your true nature or how you wish to live your life.
It’s easy to lose what’s important to you in all the noise.
Don’t get me wrong. The advent of smart devices and wireless has given us the opportunity to create a lifestyle we wish like never before ~ as long as we use them as tools to enhance not takeover our lives.
Let’s take me for example.
I use online tools to run my freelance business, work as an editor for an online magazine and write this blog.
Besides, my freelance business is run solely by me. This means I don’t have colleagues, or a boss to report to {the boss is me!}. I don’t have to leave the home if I don’t want to {and stay in my pyjamas}.
I can do whatever I want whenever I want. There’s nothing to stop me, except for me.
Sounds like bliss right?
Well, yes, but it could all easily go down the toilet. My chosen lifestyle has the ideal conditions for breeding unfortunate habits and addictive behaviours ~ unless I set sacred boundaries.
Without boundaries it would be easy for me to surf the net, watch YouTube videos or TV, check and respond to social media and my emails all day {especially if I had push notifications on}, and chat online ~ that’s because these activities are easier to do than to live {and work} purposefully.
This would have a roll-on impact on every aspect of my life.
Without boundaries I’d be creating a life where it feels like I’m working all the time. As I’d be on a screen or a device of some sort for most of the day.
This would affect my sleep, because my brain will be wired {from the device light}, so it will take me hours to fall asleep.
Over time, this type of behaviour would lead to chronic tiredness and stress, which means I wouldn’t be interested in doing activities that require my physical and mental input ~ such as exercising, cooking and eating well, writing, and spending quality time with my husband, family and friends {it takes more effort to pay attention and listen in person than it does online}.
Instead, it’d be easier for me to do things that are less taxing on the brain, like watching TV and spending time watching others lives on social media.
Can you see the cyclical pattern?
Since we no longer have any invisible boundaries that were once offered by the 9–5, desktop computers, dial-up internet and non-smart phones ~ it’s up to us create purposeful, sacred boundaries for ourselves.
That’s the beauty of it too ~ you have more power than ever before to set your own boundaries instead of someone else doing it for you. So align them to how you want to live.
Lesh Karan 
Thank you! was a beautiful read. I am going to keep it forever…..Are those you feet and lower legs in the photo above Lesh?
Tera
Yep 🙂
This is a wonderful post. What I realized when reading it was that I don’t have the discipline to enforce that kind of boundary most of the time. The only place where I seem to be able to have discipline these days is with my eating. My husband and I are on an eating plan that we love, and it is easy to stay with that boundary. Maybe the discipline is somewhat less necessary because we are retired? Since I got married 5 years ago, my discipline has totally evaporated. I will be giving serious thought to ways I can change that. Thank you for helping to change my perspective.
Thank you for this inspiring post – exactly what I’ve been pondering for many weeks and months now.
This is such a relevant, beautifully expressed post Lesh. It contains so many little gems that ring true to me that I’m going to take and apply in my own life. Thank you!
I was about to have breakfast by my desk at work… I am about to step away for 15 minutes, have breakfast and come back refreshed!
Thank you for posting such a clearly explained and informative article. Your aim of focusing on one task at a time really got me thinking, as I have a habit of doing several things at once. However, this leaves me feeling mentally clogged and really inhibits my ability to think clearly. I suspect this is something to do with the brain receiving too much information and struggling to process it all at the same time. Your post has inspired me to set some of my own boundaries, including only doing one thing at a time! Thanks again. 🙂
[…] Have you created sacred boundaries? by Lesh Karan […]
I just want to say thank you for a beautiful article on such an important and relevant topic in today’s modern era. It’s so easy to get lost amongst all the ‘noise’ and up to the individual to reclaim back their time. Your pearls of wisdom you continue to post are much appreciated in general.