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How to Talk About Your Ex in a New Relationship
Lessons learned from Bob Ross’ happy little accidents
He taught me to love my accidents.
As a child, I woke up every morning and waited for Bob Ross’ halo of unruly curls to bounce across my TV screen. Together, we painted crooked trees and snow-covered mountains against pewter skies. I mimicked every swish shoosh of his fat bristles against my canvas and turned every unsightly blob of paint into “happy little accidents.”
He called it the “joy of painting.” It was more than joy. It was passion.
Passion.
That barbed emotion that leads us down paths of good and bad intentions. Passion is not always coupled with happiness. The Latin root of the word “passion” — passio — means “pain.” To love with passion, we will endure any amount of pain. We know the risks.
The people we love and lose become our most beautiful accidents.
“We do not suffer by accident.”
― Jane Austen
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After a relationship ends, we can struggle to find happiness in the ending. And all the hackneyed relationship advice will tell you to avoid the…
