Sometimes even our deepest relationships in life change. People we thought we would be with forever are suddenly gone for one reason or another. This is a very challenging time, when someone we were close to is leaving or has left our life. Sometimes we feel as if we ourselves are being lost. Our emotional connections to people we are close to are so strong that we almost feel as if we are losing our own center deep inside when they leave our life. It is helpful during these trying times to remember that there is more to us than any relationship in life. We each have within us the capacity to deal with any relationship or situation that comes our way. People don't always stay with us, and one of the great gifts of maturity is in learning to be with ourselves and learning to befriend ourselves as people come and go in our lives. The self that each of us is has all the strength and courage it needs to go forward in this life regardless of circumstances.