You don't need the other person's cooperation to heal from conflict. You don't need them to understand, apologize, or change. The healing happens in how you metabolize what's happening, whether you stay in the relationship or leave it. The healing is yours. It belongs to you. The other person doesn't get a vote.

January has always felt like a starting gun going off, whether I'm ready or not. This year, I didn't follow the familiar urge to plan, optimize, and sprint. I exhaled instead.