Depends on what you mean by give up. The things you've learned about through this process I hope aren't something that you can or would ever want to give up. But don't you suppose in some ways effectively "detaching" is in a way giving up? Maybe holding the kernel of love in your heart (the way I imagine this man did), but not fanning the flame all the time (otherwise you'll get popcorn from your kernel). Perhaps when you feel you've given up and moved on is when you ex will finally realize what she's missing. You either will or won't be available if/when that happens. Just think...if more time had elapsed for this guy he might have remarried. Then his ex would never have had a chance at reconciliation. I'd be interested to find out what happens months down the line....if he can keep the marriage going while he does have strong feelings for someone else.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln
It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt
