Day 73 - Boundaries

What do healthy boundaries in relationships look like?  Are limits on love and boundaries in relationships the same thing?  Should love be limited in certain relationships?  Or is it more about the manifestations of love than what we'd call a boundary?
I recently had conversations with 2 of my friends who find themselves in strikingly similar situations and have questions/issues regarding relationships and boundaries, which is what inspired me to think about this.  I'm gonna share their stories and ponder some possible answers for them and in general as it relates to boundaries and love.
The first friend is a young lady who has had some interesting relationships in the past, and finds herself single and in a place of healing and change.  She has feelings for a guy who is a good friend of hers, and their relationship is... complicated at best.  Yet, the reason we spoke about boundaries was because of the feelings that she has for another one of her friends.  This friend is one who she has grown close to more recently, because there was previously some tension because of outside issues.  Yet, they've gotten past that and have become the best of friends - hanging out all the time, sharing in confidence, and just growing a healthy friendship.  Well, the snag comes into play because both of them are females and both of them are straight... yet my friend finds herself having a "girl crush" on her friend.  She feels emotionally connected to her and she even feels the need to care for and protect her, because she has great love and respect for her friend.  Now, while it's understood that females typically have the benefit of sharing closer, more intimate emotional relationships, she also feels an attraction to her friend.
The second is a young lady in a similar place - single, some interesting relationships, and in a place of healing and transition.  She is also in a place of exploring her sexuality and thinking about embracing a more open stance - receiving love in whatever form it comes as opposed to limiting it to one gender.  Her situation is also a "girl crush" on a friend who she has recently gotten close to.  There is an admiration as well as emotional attachment and some physical attraction as well.  The snag here is that her friend has a girlfriend already.  Her desire is not at all to break up the relationship, but she recognizes the feelings that she has and wants to do something about it.  She had a previous situation where she was in love with a guy friend who was in a relationship, and it made things difficult for her in the friendship.  She has no desire to hold in her feelings as she did previously and suffer in silence, so she wants to know how she can handle this in a healthy way now.
So as I listened to their stories and feelings, I came to some conclusions.

• It's clear that my friends have similar pasts that have brought them to similar places at this time.  Having dealt with interesting (not all bad, just interesting) relationships in the past, it is clear that they want to be loved in healthy, authentic ways.
• They have found a safe space of love....  It just seems to be with another female as opposed to a male.
• As far as I know, there's no real desire for romantic relationship (esp since one of the "crushes" is already in a strong, committed relationship), but with such feelings and attraction, they feel the need to do something.  Suppression is not an option when trying to live a healthy, authentic life, especially because suppression may subconsciously cause issues in the friendship.

So then questions arise - should they limit their love for their crushes?  Is there a way to redirect the love such that it doesn't cause problems?  What should a conversation with their crushes look like (if there is to be one at all)?  And what can be learned from shared love in a safe space that may be useful in their future relationships?

I don't actually have answers for my friends, but I think it's always important to remember a few things:

• Love itself is without limit, but the ways we express love have to find different manifestations depending on the relationship.
• Authenticity is always important, and despite the situation, it's important to always be honest with yourself about how you feel.
• Communication in any relationship is important, so whether the issue is fully addressed, it is always critical to maintain open communication to keep the relationship as healthy as possible.