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August 8, 2010
No reaction, just silence?
My last Minute was about repairing a broken relationship and it ended with a question: what should you do if your various attempt to reconcile with someone who is estranged from your life is met with total silence?
The answer is simple: nothing. The situation is now out of your hands and the lack of response from the other person is your signal to move on and let go. However, it wouldn’t be unusual to feel hurt, offended and rejected, but you shouldn’t take that road.
Some of us think holding on makes us strong,
but sometimes it is letting go.
- Herman Hesse
The process of reconciliation is an art, not a science; it often works, but not all of the time. It’s just like everything else in life, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. You tried to open the door – a gesture of exceptional kindness – and that alone should make you feel good about yourself.
I have been through many similar experiences in my life and have often experienced that the other side wasn’t ready to listen. Do I regret having tried so many times? Not at all. I did something that was right for me and I had to learn that I have no control over other people’s reaction.
Has your attempt to reconcile been rejected? That closes the matter, but not quite. You have to give yourself a pat on the back because you did the right thing.
