Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good night, depending upon where you live and what time of day you are listening to this next episode of Ma Between Sound. Today I heard a line in Ted Lasso that stayed with me. Strong women stand up for themselves. Stronger women stand up for others. And I believe that. I really do. But I also think there's something we do not say enough, and that is sometimes standing up for others cannot come at the cost of abandoning ourselves. This episode is about strength from others, the people who hold us up, the people we try to hold up, and the hard moments when we realize love does not mean giving someone unlimited access to us. We have discussed ahana, honesty, truth, and perception. But now in this final part of this mini-series within the overall concept of the time between sound is the concept that we do want to show up. However, we also need to protect ourselves because sometimes standing up for others hurts us. I can tell you that in my own life I have two instances of people that I love very much and I will love for the rest of my life. But I also know that if I give of myself to them, then I'm abandoning myself, my self-worth and who I am. Because in those situations I'm actually not being the stronger woman standing up for others. I'm being the woman who is allowing others to treat me poorly and then also be someone who I am not. And it is a very, very hard thing in life to take that step back and to realize that you deserve better than that. And that is where stronger women stand up for others. Because by stepping back from others who do not bring positivity in our life ever, we are being strong. And we don't want love to mean giving someone unlimited access to us and bringing us pain. That is not love. And some people need to hear that. Some people need to understand that. And there is a positive to this though, because there are people in our life where they give us strength and we give them strength. We need people. We are not meant to carry everything alone. But strength from others does not mean abandoning ourselves. So now that we realize it is okay to put ourselves first, where in your life do you need to do that? Give yourself that time between sound to think on it. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good night, depending upon where you live and what time of day you are listening to this next episode of Ma Between Sound. Today I heard a line in Ted Lasso that stayed with me. Strong women stand up for themselves. Stronger women stand up for others. And I believe that. I really do. But I also think there's something we do not say enough, and that is sometimes standing up for others cannot come at the cost of abandoning ourselves. This episode is about strength from others, the people who hold us up, the people we try to hold up, and the hard moments when we realize love does not mean giving someone unlimited access to us. We have discussed ahana, honesty, truth, and perception. But now in this final part of this mini-series within the overall concept of the time between sound is the concept that we do want to show up. However, we also need to protect ourselves because sometimes standing up for others hurts us. I can tell you that in my own life I have two instances of people that I love very much and I will love for the rest of my life. But I also know that if I give of myself to them, then I'm abandoning myself, my self-worth and who I am. Because in those situations I'm actually not being the stronger woman standing up for others. I'm being the woman who is allowing others to treat me poorly and then also be someone who I am not. And it is a very, very hard thing in life to take that step back and to realize that you deserve better than that. And that is where stronger women stand up for others. Because by stepping back from others who do not bring positivity in our life ever, we are being strong. And we don't want love to mean giving someone unlimited access to us and bringing us pain that is not love. And some people need to hear that. Some people need to understand that. And there is a positive to this though, because there are people in our life where they give us strength and we give them strength. We need people. We are not meant to carry everything alone. But strength from others does not mean abandoning ourselves. So now that we realize it is okay to put ourselves first, where in your life do you need to do that? Give yourself that time between sound to think on it. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good night, depending upon where you live and what time of day you are listening to this next episode of Ma Between Sound. Today I heard a line in Ted Lasso that stayed with me. Strong women stand up for themselves. Stronger women stand up for others. And I believe that. I really do. But I also think there's something we do not say enough, and that is sometimes standing up for others cannot come at the cost of abandoning ourselves. This episode is about strength from others, the people who hold us up, the people we try to hold up, and the hard moments when we realize love does not mean giving someone unlimited access to us. We have discussed ahana, honesty, truth, and perception. But now in this final part of this mini-series within the overall concept of the time between sound is the concept that we do want to show up. However, we also need to protect ourselves because sometimes standing up for others hurts us. I can tell you that in my own life I have two instances of people that I love very much and I will love for the rest of my life. But I also know that if I give of myself to them, then I'm abandoning myself, my self-worth and who I am. Because in those situations I'm actually not being the stronger woman standing up for others. I'm being the woman who is allowing others to treat me poorly and then also be someone who I am not. And it is a very, very hard thing in life to take that step back and to realize that you deserve better than that. And that is where stronger women stand up for others. Because by stepping back from others who do not bring positivity in our life ever, we are being strong. And we don't want love to mean giving someone unlimited access to us and bringing us pain that is not love. And some people need to hear that. Some people need to understand that. And there is a positive to this though, because there are people in our life where they give us strength and we give them strength. We need people. We are not meant to carry everything alone. But strength from others does not mean abandoning ourselves. So now that we realize it is okay to put ourselves first, where in your life do you need to do that? Give yourself that time between sound to think on it. Thanks for joining me at Ma Between Sound. If today's conversation gave you something to think about, I'd love to continue it with you. You'll find more of my work over at Between Pages on Substack. And if you'd like to help me keep creating these conversations, there's also Buy Me a Coffee. But simply listening and sharing the show means just as much. Until we meet again, keep turning the page.