letting go but holding on

it's interesting to try to grasp the concept of forgetting someone whom you've shared a meaningful relationship with - whether it be a friendship, boy/girlfriend, mother/father, etc.
usually, you are "letting go" but you don't really want to because of the initial bond that underlies everything else... including all hatred, jealousy, and bitterness.

i know that i have been "let go" of before, and once i realized that our relationship no longer meant what it had been for so many years, i was pretty shocked. devastated, sad and confused, yet shocked above all else because i never would have thought that they would let go so easily. there was no gruesome war or fist fight... which made it really hard to swallow my pride and come to the reality that we were no longer friends, because of that person's choice to let go.

i'm not sure really where i'm going with this, but recently i've been thinking about my relationships with people, and what i mean to them and them to me. some of these people whom i know, i love and care for so much that i will probably never allow myself to let go of them, even if they try to detach themselves from me.
but then again, who knows what could happen? my thoughts can always change...
so i think the only answer is the one i despise most: time.

only through time will you grow to love, and only through time will you slowly lose grip and finally let go.