One thing that I've always believed since I realized that it is impossible to have everyone stay in one's life is self-love and happiness. Without these, one will be at the mercy of those who should have just stayed as acquaintances that we refer to as friends. It's saddening today that people don't even know what the word "friend" means. You see, some put their whole life plans in the hands of someone who will cause their damnation.
Cutting people off should be at the individual's discretion. I don't cut people off because I'm told to. Before I got to the point of cutting anyone off my life, I would have taken my time to do lots of observations, weighing the advantages and disadvantages before I acted. It's so obvious and impossible to keep everyone with you as you journey through life. You will meet more people on the way, and you will also drop some because they have completed their phase.
I remember when I was still naive about human relationships, I wanted everyone close to me. If I notice you are giving space, I will still reach out to you before I come to the understanding that, at a point in one's life, you just have to let some people go, not because they are bad but because their phase is complete. An extra time can cause you pain in the long run.
Recently, I took a critical look at the people around me, and I noticed some people have been more dormant than necessary; they are just there, not adding any value to my life but monitoring my progress. I don't appreciate that if you are to be in someone's life, you have to be productive one way or another and help each other grow. That is the best way to help anyone if at all you want to help.
A proverb in my tribe says, "Twenty children cannot or will never play for twenty years," which gives the literal meaning that a group of twenty individuals can never be together for twenty years. Some of them would have found a way forward in their lives, either through marriage or work-related, which would have changed their location away from where they used to be.
One major cutoff I can say I had recently was a friend with whom I've been together as friends for 10 years. Although our locations differ, we were still closed when the separation was to occur. I noticed some changes, and I couldn't fight him for them because I had it in mind earlier that the relationship couldn't last forever. After all, one way or another, a time is coming when we will both have to go our separate ways. When I noticed the strange acts, it didn't take me long to cut him off because I believed he needed the space. It's not right to force the bond when they want it off.
Thanks for your time, and your comments will be appreciated.