We enjoy a loving relationship. When things don't go well, we initially work on it. We yearn for the loving times. We yearn for what we would like the relationship to be. We yearn to have it right now.
So, we work on reclaiming or expanding the good and eliminating or repairing the bad in it. Some of us work at it harder than others. Eventually, if that relationship ends, we can no longer work at it. No more couples therapy, compromising or talking it out. The other person is not around. We learn to and do stop working at it.
But we did not learn to stop yearning. We did not do anything about that. Not surprisingly then, the yearning has not gone away.
Many mountain climbers have failed to summit Mount Everest. They dismantle their tents, pack their gear, and begin heading back home. They take in that they are no longer climbing but descending. They go through those paces.
The expedition has ended, but the yearning to summit has not. At some point, they must come to terms with their yearning.