The Bohemian Storyteller

In the past couple of months, two people I care about told me,
“Don’t take this personally. I’m stepping back. I need to go contactless and inward for a while.”

And even though they said it wasn’t about me,
my first instinct was to think,
What did I do wrong?
Did I fail them in some way?
Was I not enough? Was I too much?

I had to take a few breaths.
Sit with the silence.
And remind myself,
It’s not always about me.

Sometimes, people are simply trying to find themselves.
Sometimes, space is an act of self-preservation,
not rejection.

And I get it.
Because I’ve been there too.
I’ve walked through dark, disorienting seasons where even answering a message felt impossible.
I’ve disappeared without explanation when I didn’t have the words.
And maybe, some of my own relationships unraveled because I couldn’t say,
“I love you, but I need to be alone right now.”

So now, I try to do better.
I try to honour other people’s need for space
without spiraling, without resentment.
I try to offer grace,
because I know what it means to need it.

And I hope…
That when my time comes to retreat,
when my own soul needs silence,
I’ll be met with the same grace I’ve given.
The same space.
The same understanding.

Because sometimes,
distance isn’t disconnection.
It’s just healing.

And we all deserve that.

~ The Bohemian Storyteller