Boundaries of Rhythm

An Essay by Patty L. Fletcher

September 12, 2026
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Yesterday evening, Blue and I enjoyed music outside with our friends.

We came back in around 7:45, and I signed into Zoom for the Friends In Art presentation, The Author Collective.

I enjoyed what I heard of the author’s interview, but suddenly the music outside intensified. The drums were vibrating the floor, and I found myself completely overstimulated.

I could no longer process what anyone was saying. When I tried to leave the Zoom room, I had trouble navigating because all the sounds had become so intermingled that I couldn’t get my spatial orientation straight on my phone.

I finally found my way clear and took Blue, who had absolutely had enough by then, to our room. I turned on a loud fan, got into bed, and tried to enjoy a book.

That was impossible too.

Finally, I followed Blue’s example and began tuning it all out. I found myself matching his long, deep breaths, and soon I settled into a smooth rhythm of breathwork and began drifting away.

I turned my phone to silent, and when I woke again at 12:30 for a bathroom trip, there was nothing but blissful silence, except for the muted sounds of the city cleaning up after the evening’s festivities.

There will be music again today, and again, we will enjoy some of it.

But after a while, it will become too much, and Blue, I, and others like us will be hunting for shelter from the noise.

I’m not complaining. I think all this is great fun. I’m simply acknowledging how it works for us.

Blue and I can party with the best of them. Just ask my sister Joan. She can tell you I’m a party girl, and I know some great spots.

But eventually, enough is enough. Too much gets nasty, and it’s time to make our escape.

I used to feel bad about leaving somewhere when I’d had enough. I don’t anymore. I’ve learned it’s much better to speak up and say when I’m done and ready to go than to push myself past my limits and end up making an ass of myself.

When I first got my phone and earbuds, I used them as an escape at events I couldn’t leave on my own. These days, since most people come to my neck of the woods to visit, it’s easier for me to set boundaries. I can enjoy company when I want it and solitude when I need it.

Even when I have company in my home, I set boundaries so I don’t push myself too far.

Now I’m learning to do the same in other areas of my life: watch for my triggers, recognize when I’m reaching my limit, and step away before I become overwhelmed.

Only now am I beginning to understand just how important it is to recognize my triggers in our continually changing world of electronic communication. Without facial expressions, tone of voice, or other familiar cues, it can be far too easy to misunderstand what I’m reading or have what I’m trying to say come across differently than I intended. Not long ago, such a misunderstanding nearly wrecked me. It taught me that boundaries are every bit as important in the digital world as they are in the physical one.

I believe this is important for maintaining friendships and other relationships on a more even balance.

I wish we’d all known, in our younger days, more about the safety that comes from giving ourselves and others permission to set boundaries without guilt. Think of the family arguments and rifts that might have been avoided.

Well, as it is said, “Only a fool laments what can’t be helped.”

I’m glad I know it now.

For now, I’m enjoying my first cuppa. I drank the first half in complete silence while doing my four-four-count breathwork to begin the day.

A body, mind, and spirit check-in comes first. Once I know where I am within myself, I can move more safely into the rest of my day.

Blue is a-snoozing, and with solitude, computer, coffee, and words, I’m a-choosing.

All is right with the world.

This is Team Blue saying:

“Keep your nose to the ground and your tail waving at the sky.”

The festival happening literally in our back yard and all around is called Rhythm and Roots.

Pick up the beat with Rhythm and Roots here.

Find out more about Friends In Art here.

Patty L. Fletcher – Author and Content Promoter.

About Patty L. Fletcher

Updated November 2024

Patty L. Fletcher is a woman of passion and exploration.

She studies the art of manifestation and is a seeker of knowledge and the wisdom to know what to do with it when it’s learned.

To learn more visit: https://pattysworlds.com/about/

If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start from any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.

Mary Pickford