I think somewhere in my life I accepted the fact that all relationships in life are actually transitory. Perhaps it was the way life and death were regarded as perfectly normal in my upbringing. Some relationships we obviously hope last longer than others, but no relationship will ever last forever.

That isn't a pessimistic view for me; it is just realistic, and in a way, I think it helps me appreciate whatever relationships I find myself in in the moment. I've had some marvelous relationships that were actually quite brief, and I had great affection for those individuals (and yes, even love at times). And those transitory relationships, even the ones where I can look back and say I loved that person, surprisingly didn't leave me crushed when they came to an end. We moved on in our separate ways and that was okay; that is life. The relationships that were truly difficult endings were losses of dear family and close friends (I don't put my therapists in that category, but can still comfortably say I had love for them as people.)