Mary McMahon

The American Dream has changed. It’s not so much about becoming a millionaire or exceeding the expectations of society’s definition of success. It’s become more about living your life to your own means and needs.

Maybe there’s no logic to it at all. Maybe you have to take the logic out of love to simplify it for yourself. Maybe you just need to let things happen, let them unfold in order to live your true happiness.

We love deeply, we love fully – because there’s not one aspect of our life that we half-ass.

Stop living through the fear. Stop living in the doubt. Begin to think less and feel more. Go with your gut. Feel all of it, and think nothing of it. Feel all the love or hope or happiness without letting your brain overcomplicate it.

The idea is put into yours or their head that this holiday is supposed to mean something. That if you mess up or go too all-out, it’ll be written in stone for the rest of time. There’s just too much in the air, and all the societal pressure to put a figurative ring on it causes people to flip into a panic and abandon ship.

Showing any kind of emotion. People love to shame emotions. If someone pisses you off, you’re allowed to be mad. If someone makes you feel special, you’re allowed to feel loved. Start accepting your emotions as a natural thing your body processes. You’ll be able to make smarter decisions because of it.

“I’m just wondering what happened to make you vanish. If you aren’t interested, you could’ve just told me. People are allowed to change their feelings. If it’s something else, I’d like to know. It’s the least you could do.”

You have to accept that love is something we do. It’s something we feel. But it’s not something to be searched for, bought, sought or won.

Say ‘no’ to ghosting. You can do this. Go out there and be ‘not shitty.’

Routine Love: You love each other. It’s just a fact. There’s this cozy comfort in this person. ‘Routine’ sounds like it’s a bad thing, but it’s really not. It’s simplicity. There’s no questioning.

It’s not like it didn’t hurt for you. It did. It hurt a lot, but you also hurt a lot during the time you were together. So that final goodbye is less heartbreak for you, and more so your freedom to live and love yourself again.

You’ll make it through. You’re just taking a different path than everyone else to happily ever after.