@mymysticcompass: We make our own beds—and sometimes, we have to sit in them long enough to ask ourselves why we climbed into them in the first place. There is so much self-reflection required on this journey of life. It would be easy to experience emotional pain and decide, “Never again. I’m never letting anyone get close enough to hurt me like that.” But I don’t think the lesson is to become colder. I think the lesson is to become more discerning. Sometimes emotional pain is exactly what forces us to meet ourselves on a deeper level. It shows us where we abandoned our own standards, where we became attached to potential instead of reality, where we gave access before it was earned, and where we accepted things that the strongest version of ourselves no longer would. The goal isn’t to stop loving deeply. The goal is to raise our standards so that the depth of our love is reserved for people who are already capable of meeting us there—not people we hope will eventually become capable. Pain doesn’t have to close your heart. Sometimes it teaches you who actually deserves access to it.
