Why do I feel guilty for needing space from my family members?

That guilt runs deep because family is where we learned to belong. Setting a boundary with someone who raised you, or who shaped your earliest sense of safety, can feel like betrayal. But Mirabai's life shows us something different: devotion doesn't mean staying. Love doesn't mean drowning. She loved her family, and she left. Not in anger—in clarity. She recognized that her spiritual path, her examined heart, required distance from what was suffocating it. That took real courage because the guilt was *real*. It didn't disappear just because the decision was right. Your need for space isn't selfishness. It's information. If you need distance from family, something in that dynamic is hurting you, or you're losing yourself, or both. That matters. Examine what specifically you need: time alone? Conversations without judgment? Fewer visits? Different topics? The need is pointing at something true. Guilty and right can exist together. You can love someone and need space from them. You can honor what they gave you and protect what you're building. Tell them the boundary comes from care, not rejection. Then grieve what you can't have with them—that grief is real too, and it's the price of your freedom. That's not guilt talking. That's love, examined honestly.