I made this decision over five years ago and am just now thinking that maybe I might be ready to at least think about the possibility of being with someone again, but it's still not at all important. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a break and letting yourself go through whatever you need to to heal and put the pieces of yourself back together. The only reason I wouldn't say "ever again" is because just by living as long as you have now you know that feelings and circumstances change, and what you swore you felt one day may not still be what you feel next month or four years from now, etc. But stepping back for however long it takes will only protect you from getting into any other relationships that you know you're not ready for, thus saving you (and her) even more compounded pain and regrets and bad feelings, and I see that as a good thing. Too many people jump from one relationship to the next to "help" them heal, and find that after much time and heartache later, when they think about it, those old negative feelings are still there waiting to be dealt with. I personally have a lot of work to do to be able to call myself happy, but I am happy about deciding to leave relationships alone for a while, because hopefully I've given myself what I needed to have a fair chance with the next one. (If there is one).