"One of the most salutary lessons I have had to learn in life is that most relationships have a 'sell by date.' Sometimes that date is when the marriage breaks up and divorce naturally follows. For some, though the marriage contract be lifelong, the relationship exists in name only as the couple live their individual lives beneath the same marital roof and go their separate ways. For the very lucky ones, love exists throughout their married life and is even said to endure beyond the grave.
The very worse thing, the most futile thing to engage in is holding on to someone who doesn't want to be held on to. It is like attaching a huge ball and chain to your ankle and throwing away the key, because you refuse to let go of the past and accept the current situation. If you do not accept the reality of the relationship's ending for the other person, it will drag you down wherever you go or whoever attaches themselves to you.
Sometimes, like a loved one on their death bed who has been hanging on in pain because you want them to live and stay with you as long as is humanely possible, there comes a time when you should let them go with your blessing, however painful it is for you to stay behind. We sometimes have to let go of the things we most love and allow our sadness to fly away on the wings of time, or else we diminish the capacity ever to love again." William Forde: February 18th, 2016.