Daily we are graciously invited into a myriad of dramas. As thoughtful as this is of our fellow earth sharing humans, we do have the power and right to kindly decline the invite.
My children are adorable little teachers of this, with their quick responses of "no way, jerk". Okay, I admit we ought to choose kinder words, however the decline to the invite is more than clear.  Some people mean well and with (sometimes)   genuine good intentions welcome us in to their seemingly endless dramas and with pity or maybe just obligation we accept. Then comes the gut wrenching, skin crawling, feeling of dread. In our feeling of being stuck, we continue down the path with them, all the while questioning why and how we got there. We made the choice. We accepted the invite.
So now what? How in the world do we still be a friend, show compassion, and love well, yet safely guard ourselves and set solid boundaries?
Simple, right? Nope! The reason you accepted the invite in the first place is because you have an overgrown and beautiful heart. Let's not change that one bit, rather let's  add teacher into those labels. We can all love and teach those in our circles of the value they hold and the part they play in this world. Distance is your friend here, your heart is precious so guard it carefully as you walk this road. Loving well,
by no means equals being a door mat.
Those dramas have authentic pain behind them, faces and names attached to them, and they reached out to you because of a need. Evaluate  what you can give, how much, and set those boundaries. In my experience the receiver is far more appreciative of authenticity and boldness in love than phony, obligated concern.
Love well, both yourself and others!