Past hurt and broken trust

I am hopelessly naïve to believe that since people can change for the better--and that mistakes are opportunities to learn so long as they are not repeated—they will be forgiven for past wrongs.

A close friend reminded me yesterday that when a person gets so hurt by someone, they may never learn to trust, love and open up to that person again, ever. His honest opinion was that the door was forever closed on those friendships and relationships. I weakly argued that people change and circumstances change. His words were hard for me to hear, but hearing it dissolved my naivete.

I look back on certain mistakes and ways I have been naively hurtful in my past. Instead of having them disappear into a blank slate, I realize that I will have to accept and live with them every day for the rest of my life.