What You Really Said When You Said ‘Goodbye’

Isn’t it truly inspiring how one single, solitary word can free us so deeply that it feels like the pain we’ve been tethered to disappears? That we can muster up the strength, boldness, and fearlessness to say one word that can bring unto us a rush of clarity and enlightenment? Isn’t one word so much more than simply one word?

What did you really say when you said “goodbye”?

You said that your worth weighs more than your fear of loneliness, sorrow, and uncertainty. You said that you’re aware there will be days ahead that don’t feel like days but long, drawn-out nightmares you can’t escape. You said you’ll feel lost, uncomfortable, unknowing, and unsure of yourself and the world around you. That you may spend moments of doubt curled up underneath the covers instead of the moon. That you will sometimes question all of your decisions, but mostly that one, and will wonder about the “what ifs” and “maybes” that turned to smoke when the flicker of hope was gone. That this aching pain in your chest will carry on until, well, it doesn’t.

But you also said you deserve better—more. You deserve to lock eyes with that person, your person, across the room and just know. You deserve Sunday mornings, cup of coffee in hand, snuggled up next to the love of your life. You deserve not to question where you stand and who you stand with. You deserve forehead kisses and flowers just because. To look at that person standing there and whisper to yourself, “How on earth did I get this lucky?” You deserve those petty little arguments about who left this here and that there, only to laugh and make up in the best way you know how. You deserve, even in the hardest moments and most trying days, to choose someone over and over again because it feels right.

What you really said is you deserve to never have to say “goodbye” again.