Losing A Forbidden Flower -

You convince yourself it isn’t really over. They’ll call. They’ll find a way. You check your blocked messages. You drive past their street. You maintain the "just in case" posture, keeping a space for them in your life even though the door has been welded shut. Denial is oxygen in a vacuum; it’s the only thing keeping you alive, so you cling to it.

The colleague who is married. The friend who lives on another continent. The person whose age, background, or lifestyle places them just outside the circle of what is considered "acceptable." Losing A Forbidden Flower

We learn that the most important garden to tend is the one within ourselves. Other flowers may come and go, some forbidden, some allowed, but the ability to nurture joy is a permanent part of who you are. The ache of the loss will fade, leaving behind the fragrant memory of a flower that was, for a short time, the most beautiful thing in your world. You convince yourself it isn’t really over