On Outgrowing Without Losing the Love

When love changes shape, the heart learns new ways to walk forward.

This morning, I came across a reflection that stirred an old memory of a passage from 365 Dao by Deng Ming-Dao. The passage offers a quiet wisdom about companionship, gratitude, and the natural rhythm of parting:

“We meet others at the crossroads, walk together for a while, and eventually part because no one can carry another for long. Friendship carries no ownership. Knowledge belongs to no one. We give when we feel moved to give, receive when we feel the need, and continue forward when the road divides. Transience grants life its poignancy.”

As I sat with these words, I felt a familiar truth return: we often outgrow certain relationships—not through conflict, not through fading affection, but through the steady work of growth itself. As we evolve, our inner landscape reshapes. And sometimes the new shape no longer aligns with the connection that once held us.

Gratitude often softens this truth.

Transience grants life its poignancy.

Deng Meng Dao

Gratitude helps me honor the earlier version of myself who needed that friendship, who leaned on that presence, who laughed and learned through those shared seasons. Gratitude also frees me to release what no longer fits, without bitterness and without guilt.

We don’t lose the memories.

We simply carry them differently.

Growth never equates to betrayal.

Growth reflects a soul stretching beyond its familiar edges and exploring new territory.

Some connections fade, and some evolve—but all of them teach us how to grow.

If you feel this shift rising in your own life, offer yourself compassion. You follow the road forward with honesty, and you carry every chapter with you in a new form—lighter, wiser, and truer to who you continue to become.

Until next time, stay inspired and inspirational.

— Sifu Khonsura Wilson