Love has many faces and, unfortunately, not all of them are happy or reciprocated. There are moments when romanticism transforms into pure melancholy. For those days of emotional depressionthere is a phrase from the poet Gabriel Garcia Marquezwhich has become the refuge of broken hearts on the internet: «“The worst way to miss someone is to sit next to them and know that you can never have them.”.

A phrase from the poet that has already become a standard of all those people who dream of their love being reciprocated by the person they are close tobut it does not end up blooming. A situation that, today, more and more people suffer, due to the emotional distancing produced by social networks.

What does the poet mean with this phrase?

At first glance, García Márquez’s phrase poses a paradox that can be devastating. Normally, We miss people when there are miles of distance between them.when we can neither see nor touch them. But this thought turns the tables and tells us about a much worse distance: emotional distance.

What the author wants to convey is the tremendous frustration of physical proximity in the face of the impossibility of bonding. You can hear her laugh a short distance from you, you can touch her hand or you can adopt a loving tone with her, but you know perfectly well that her love is far from your reach.

The pain of wanting and not being able to

If you have ever been to the famous friendzone, or if you have fallen in love with someone who already had their life made up with another person, you know perfectly well what this pain tastes like: It is a mixture of masochism and hope that feeds more and more with each passing day..

The author says that “when you miss someone who is far away, time and distance end up healing the wound”, coining the well-known saying of “eyes that do not see, heart that does not feel». However, when the person is next to you, the wound opens again and again. Their presence is a constant reminder that you will never be able to fulfill that wish you long for.

Social networks enhance the phrase

Today, this feeling is more alive than ever in the digital age. We live glued to the screens, seeing the photos that special person uploads, knowing what they do, who they go out with and what music they listen to. We are practically at your side, virtually speaking.

In the end, this phrase from the Chilean poet invites us to accept a hard lesson: sometimes, for mental health, It is better to take a step back and put physical distance when the emotional distance is already breaking us inside and consuming our positivity.