Blue and Jib
Your posts were each beautiful in their humanity, thank you for sharing them. I haven't been writing, more just percolating.
Indeed, resentment was likely an undercurrent, and he would know that is something I did not earn. He observed his own insistence on creating closeness and was surprised by his own withdrawal. He knows it isn't me, and was protecting me from seeing that undercurrent.
Which brings me to your question, Blue. Yes, he can appreciate a wide range and his friendships reflect that as does his humanist value system. But... he appreciates intellectually, from afar, in a sense. At a deeper level? I don't know. Maybe the appreciation mingles with comparison, with ways he feels he falls short. I suspect it does.
And so... as to our suitability? Not suitable now, and now is all I need to know. Its a bummer. But glad he ended it rather than drag it out.
I have been pleased with who I am and who I have been through this major change. I feel a bit isolated which happens when my work disrupts my nights and weekends. Mostly I feel stable and productive and like I am doing what I am supposed to do. I am grateful for that!