Beautiful heartbreak

I used to work in an old Georgian building in a little market town in Hampshire, England. I had a beautiful office, with floor to roof windows. I had a mantelpiece, gentle lighting, plants and a huge space to work in. Downstairs was a shop that sold furniture, nicknacks and bric-a-brac. Twice a day I'd go downstairs and meet with the girl who worked in the shop to talk about life, the future and love. We'd stand in the pouring rain, we'd wrap up for the harshest of winter days and warm ourselves in the sunshine for brief moments in the summer time. Louisa, who was also a jeweller left the shop when the owner moved to the coast. We stayed in touch. Meeting for a glass of wine, dinner and to catch up on our very swiftly developing lives. We talked about our life decisions and the directions they would take us. To follow your heart. Keep your head up, heart strong.
Our lives were heading in different directions. I was waiting for the moment that would take me away from England, and that time came in July.
I wanted to have something made by my dear friend who I shared so much with. We talked about what item of jewellery would be made. We talked through ideas and visions. Louisa drew up story boards of graphics, pictures, quotes and dreams.
I had a collection of jewellery that I didn't have the heart to throw away, but I would never wear again. These items were rings given to me by previous loves of mine. People who had helped me become who I am today, but also people who weren't right for me, and in some cases had hurt me. Every heart break is a lesson learnt, and I am grateful for all the happiness I shared, love and adventures we went on. It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all. I handed over the jewellery of my past. So much emotion and memory in such small items, that represented such a huge amount to me. I trusted Louisa knew my story, knew me and knew what I was looking for.
She would melt down the rings of my past to create a ring for my future. A ring to remind me that the best is yet to come. That the journey is only just beginning. A ring that contains so much of my past. A ring to remind me that you learn and develop from the moments that hurt the most. That every dark cloud has a silver lining. That time is a great healer. That hitting rock bottom is a chance to start again.
I would have 'The Quantum Physics Quest' inscribed, along with my date of birth and initials. This is a 100% unique item of jewellery. I left England at the end of July to begin a new chapter on my quantum physics quest. The ring wasn't back from the inscribers, I boarded the plane to start my quest without it.
Louisa and I stayed in touch during my time in Hong Kong and the ring was posted. It didn't arrive. We contacted each other and the ring was somewhere between Hampshire, England, and Hong Kong. If the quantum physics of the universe is to be believed, then the ring would appear.
On Thursday, I came back to my apartment, in Wan Chai, Hong Kong to see a parcel had arrived from the other side of the world. I couldn't contain my excitement. My door man was quite taken back when my eyes filled with tears while collecting items from my post box.
I ripped open the parcel and a small box wrapped up with green ribbon tied in a bow was inside. I untied the bow and opened the box.
There it was. The ring of my past in the new form of my future. It contained one of the diamonds from my rings of the past. The outer surface was illuminated in the light, uneven and perfectly imperfect. I could see where Louisa had shaped it with various tools and moulded the shape to fit my finger perfectly. I couldn't stop smiling.
I remember vividly the moments when my past relationships had broken down, taking the rings off my fingers and putting them back in their boxes, packing them up and putting them under my bed, away from the world. I remember the pain of letting go of something that had meant so much to me. Letting go of something that, at the time I could't imagine ever being without. I remember the feeling of my heart actually breaking, and the absolute fear of being alone. I never thought I would want to be reminded of these memories again.
One day, I realised through heartbreak I had found something amazing. The pain I had felt encouraged me to reaccess who I was, why this had happened to me and propelled me forward towards my own dreams. I realised that the heartbreak and hitting rock bottom wasn't something to forget, it was the beginning of a whole new me. I wanted to remember letting go of a person that wasn't me and be reminded of how far I had come on my journey. I became thankful for the experiences, all of the experiences, however hard they were at the time. Every day of my past had helped me to become who I am today. I was thankful for the lessons that I had learnt from the hardest moments of my life.
Inscribed in the part of the ring that touches my skin, is my date of birth, This is to remind me that I am alive. Next to this is my initials, S A H. I am at the centre of my own life and universe. People will come and go People will love and leave. I will love and leave. Life is a continuous cycle. Next to that are the words that have become my guide. The. Quantum. Physics. Quest.
I will wear this ring for the rest of my life. I will remember the people who gave me the original rings as they will always be with me. I will smile every time I look down at my hand and see my ring for all the memories contained within it. I will be reminded every day, to be proud of the journey I have been on, how far I have come since those days that I felt the world had ended, and to believe and have faith in how much further I can go.

Thank you Louisa for making such heartbreak into such beautiful and ever lasting happiness