The End or just the Beginning? Part 2

[mako]

I like the cigarettes analogy. It seems a lot of us here, especially at the start, are addicted to our WAS. It makes sense, they were a huge part of our life, and all of a sudden they are gone, so we go through withdrawal from missing them, we see only the positives of our M and dismiss the negatives, feel we can't live without them, etc.

At some point we come to the conclusion that we really don't need our WAS to be happy and we can move on with our lives. Sometimes we even see that staying in the marriage would impede our happiness if the WAS isn't willing to change. This to me is the key to all of this: breaking the addiction and knowing that we can be happy no matter what happens. This isn't to say that I or Atlas or any of us should necessarily close the door, if once we step back we see that our WAS truly is someone that could be a positive in our lives...but we have to reach the point where it truly is our decision as well as theirs, and we have to make the decision without being clouded by that addiction. I'm glad to see Atlas that you seem to have overcome the addiction, and are able to make this tough decision that being with W is not going to be a positive in your life. Knowing what you do now about your W and about yourself, seeing it from a clear point of view, I think you know that what you are doing is the right thing for you, and I commend you for knowing that.