Reframing Rebound Relationships

“What if they only need you

for a little while?

Can you handle that?

Are you strong enough

to be a bridge?

-J. Warren Welch-

There are some romantic relationships that are meant to serve as bridges. It could be that one or both people within a relationship intentionally assume that role and support the other person through a challenging transition. Or it can happen without conscious awareness – one person guiding the other as they move from the initial to the desired state of being, bridging their past and their future self.

When a person enters such a relationship unaware of the dynamics in place, after the relationship ends, they likely think of it as a “rebound” relationship, deeming it either insignificant or seeing it as another failure, another loss. But if genuine care has been the essence of the relationship, the growth that occurs for one or both individuals from the starting point (which is usually desperation or loneliness) to the finish line (where one comes to understand who they are at their core, and what it is that they truly want or need) is undeniable when viewed in hindsight.

The partners on this journey may have been quite unaware that they had been contributing to the healing of another, to the awakening of a powerful force within them that may have been inert before. They may have done this merely by their presence, or by their gentle guidance, or simply through the act of being vulnerable and transparent to the point that allowed the other person to finally see clearly. There is nothing short of magnificent about that.

To be in someone’s life only for a little while isn’t a failure or something to try to avoid at all cost. It is a courageous act of love not limited by time or space. Moving on when it’s time to move on, not grasping for something that is not ours to keep, and taking comfort in the fact that someone is better off because of the experiences shared, are loving and graceful ways to close the chapters in life that have served their purpose. Rather than insignificant, rebound relationships are a powerful portal to a better future.