"Sometimes people walk away
from love because it is so
beautiful that it terrifies them.
Sometimes they leave because
the connection shines a bright
light on their dark places and
they are not ready to work them
through.
Sometimes they run away because
they are not developmentally
prepared to merge with another,
they have more individuation work
to do first.
Sometimes they take off because
love is not a priority in their lives;
they have another path and
purpose to walk first.
Sometimes they end it because
they prefer a relationship that is
more practical than conscious,
one that does not threaten the
ways that they organize reality.
Because so many of us carry
shame, we have a tendency to
personalize love's leavings,
triggered by the rejection and
feelings of abandonment.
But this is not always true.
Sometimes it has nothing to do
with us.
Sometimes the one who leaves is
just not ready to hold it safe.
Sometimes they know something
we don't, they know their limits
at that moment in time.
Real love is no easy path,
readiness is everything.
May we grieve loss without
personalizing it.
May we learn to love ourselves
in the absence of the lover."
✍🏼Jeff Brown