... by Leo Tolstoy was one of my favourite books ten years ago, and its resonance still resounds today ... Karenin's letter to Anna may not be beautifully written, but the sentiment expressed is something which I aspire to, but can never attain ... To love someone who no longer loves you is at best difficult, and at times impossible ...
"I can see that my presence is disagreeable to you. Painful as it is for me to recognise this, I see that it is so and cannot be otherwise. I do not reproach you, and God is my witness that when I saw you at the time of your illness I resolved with my whole heart to forget all that had come between us and begin life anew. I do not regret, and shall never regret, what I did; my only desire was for your welfare, the welfare of your soul, and now I see I have not attained that. Tell me yourself what would give you true happiness and peace of mind. I put myself entirely in your hands, and trust to your feeling of what is right."
