I didn't take any pictures, but I think that one might understand why not.

What follows is probably a little more detail than you might want about my life, but hey... It's my proof. Also, I'm not sure that this strictly qualifies under the definition of "Real World" problem... but it is a problem that affected me quite deeply on a daily basis, so it was plenty real for me.

A little over a year ago, I was dating a woman who seemed pretty great. She wasn't the most trusting of people, but given the trouble she'd had with men in her life, I guess I can understand why. Things started slowly with us but seemed to be progressing well. Levels of trust were established, we were getting closer and we were really getting into eachother. It seemed to me that, barring radical change, I could see myself with this woman long term... Maybe forever. There was a little trouble, she got jealous of a friend of mine, but it seemed like we got it figured out and things were back on track... Then I got an email that basically said, "I think that you hacked into my email and have been using what you learned to get close to me. I dont want you in my life. Don't try to talk to me... I'm never speaking to you again." Totally out of the blue... and made all the more bizarre by the fact that she actually never spoke to me again. I tried all sorts of things, assuming that if we could just talk about it, everything would be okay. They were not. This was a pretty devastating occurance for me. I tried really hard to move past it and get on with my life, but I found thinking about the siutation constantly. After six months, I realized that not a day had gone by when I didnt think about her. It probably took me that long just to really get it through my head that there was nothing I could do. Even still, thoughts presisted. After a year had passed, she was on my mind every day it seemed. Then while on a recent camping trip, I opened up a bin and found a letter that I'd written her. This particular camping trip is extremely special to me. It's a annual trip with lots of friends that gets me out of my own space and into one that's very supportive and reflective. I started to read the letter and then instead got a bottle of lighter fluid out of that bin, went to the fire pit, and ceremonially burned the letter.

And it acutally helped. I do think about her from time to time, but it feels like something in the past now. Sometimes, simple rituals work and fire can fix things.