I Am Not a Resource Pool

A locked stone well stands as a potent symbol, emphasizing the message "I AM NOT A RESOURCE POOL," challenging the notion of exploitation and advocating for respect and boundaries.

I am not an endless supply.

Not of patience.

Not of care.

Not of labor.

Not of wisdom.

Not of calm.

And I am not here to be mined.

Some people move through the world assuming that certain bodies exist to be drawn from. That if someone is capable, thoughtful, or generous, they should remain permanently available. They approach people the way corporations approach land: extract first, justify later.

I am not that terrain.

Being capable does not make me consumable

Competence often becomes a liability.

If you are good at something, people expect you to keep doing it.

If you endure hardship, people expect you to endure more.

If you hold things together, people assume you always will.

This is how capability gets mistaken for consent.

What began as strength becomes expectation.

What was once offered becomes required.

That is not admiration.

That is exploitation.

The myth of “You can handle it”

One of the most common ways people justify extraction is with praise.

They say:

• “You’re so strong.”

• “You always know what to do.”

• “You’re the only one who can handle this.”

  
  

What they mean is:

I am comfortable letting this fall on you.

Being able to handle something does not mean you should.

Being resilient does not mean you are inexhaustible.

Resource pools are meant to be depleted

Think about the language we use.

We don’t ask if a resource wants to be used.

We don’t ask what it costs the land.

We don’t stop until something runs dry.

When people treat you like a resource pool, they do not plan for your sustainability. They plan for their continued access.

And when you finally say no, they act shocked—as if the well suddenly betrayed them by having a bottom.

Why refusal feels threatening to others

Refusing to be a resource pool destabilizes systems that rely on quiet extraction.

People become uncomfortable when:

• you stop overexplaining

• you limit availability

• you withdraw unpaid labor

• you say no without apology

  
  

They may accuse you of being selfish, cold, or difficult.

What they are reacting to is not cruelty.

They are reacting to loss of supply.

I decide what I offer

Here is the truth that makes entitlement nervous:

I choose when I give.

I choose what I give.

I choose how much it costs me.

And I am allowed to stop.

Nothing I offer is automatic. Nothing is owed. Nothing continues simply because it once existed.

Generosity without agency is not generosity—it is depletion.

This is not withdrawal. It is accuracy.

I am not pulling away from connection.

I am pulling away from extraction.

I am not closing because I lack care.

I am closing because I have learned what it costs me to stay open indiscriminately.

Being selective is not bitterness .

It is precision.

This is the line

I am a person, not a supply chain.

I am a body, not a buffer.

I am a human being, not a resource pool.

If something requires my depletion to function, it does not get access to me.

Nothing here is free just because it is generous.