To The Man Who Broke My Heart: Thank You
Today, I am more the person I wanted to be than I ever believed was possible.
Blue Titan / Shutterstock Thank you for breaking my heart.
Thank you for not believing in my dream. For calling it “a hobby.”
Thank you for forbidding me to build a jewelry studio and calling my ideas “unrealistic.” It forced me to dream a little harder and my business is stronger for my dreams and for your dismissal of them.
Thank you for making horrible comments about my body. For calling me fat. For making rude remarks about certain parts of my anatomy. It forced me to fall in love with every curve, crevice, and bump attached to this soul, and my body and soul are more in tune and in love with each other than ever.
Thank you for trying to control me. For doing your best to put me in a box. For treating me like a trophy or some type of arm candy. It forced me to know my worth and stand proudly on my own two feet and I stand tall and proud when I once would have sat quietly in the corner.
Thank you for being emotionally unavailable and cold. For being thoughtless and uncaring. Sometimes just being cruel. It forced me to strive for emotional sobriety, work hard on myself, and have compassion for those who are suffering like yourself.
Today I am more the person I wanted to be than I ever believed was possible.
Thank you for being generous and telling me to keep the ring when I couldn’t keep your heart. It forced me to examine what a ring really means, and that is an important thing for a custom engagement ring designer to understand. Did you know that in India they believe that the energy of a piece of jewelry is stored in the stone?
I freed that stone from its setting and released the tidal wave of tears from my heart. And my compassion for lovers and friends is now without boundaries because of the understanding I received as those tears washed my heart clean of bitterness and regret.
But most of all, thank you for not believing in me forever. Because you see, I took that diamond and I gave it to one of my best friends so that he could propose to his love. So that they could start a happy, solid marriage built on mutual trust and respect. So that I could have their example to watch for the rest of the time.
I may never find true love again, but it doesn’t matter. Because I was forced to learn to love myself. And that’s the most romantic love story of all.
Jacqueline Stone has a diverse background in finance, marketing, merchandising, production, product development, and fine jewelry. Connect with her on her website and follow her on Twitter.