And sometimes, people are just tired, said Lee. “The initial heat of the argument has cooled, and what is left is this cold, hard lump of silence. After five years, you might not even remember why you stopped talking to your father but you do miss his terrible but hilarious Dad jokes.”
If you’ve been meaning to mend a broken relationship in your life, here’s what the experts say you can do.
IS EGO THE ONLY OBSTACLE TO FORGIVENESS?
“Ego is the flashy headline,” said Lee, “but the real story is often in the fine print.” She likened reconciliation to “less like a single wall (ego) and more like a whole obstacle course” that can include the following hurdles:
Fear of rejection or hurt: “It is like touching a hot stove; once burned, you are terrified to go near it. And people would rather live with the quiet, known pain of estrangement than risk a new, fresh hurt,” said Lee.
