Loss

Looking back on our lives from time to time is and can be a healthy thing to do. Reflecting helps us to see where we have made both good and not so good choices. Successes and setbacks, love and loss, happy times and sad times, all of these, you and I can learn from (if we choose to) and use them as a springboard for the future. The one thing thing though that you and I will experience and continue to go through no matter how old, how young, rich or poor, is loss at various stages of life.

The losses we have endured are not always fun to talk about. Most all of us would agree it to be a negative topic and one that we rarely discuss in open. Loss is part of everyday life and although it can stir up strong emotions, there is a lot we can learn from what loss does to us and how we can grow from it. Loss comes in many different forms. There is the loss of a spouse, child, pet, losing money, a limb, a job, a best friend, income, jewelry, sight or hearing, a neighbor, a home, a Grand parent, a soldier in the military, an aunt or uncle. Even in the ancient text, in the very first recording of humans, Adam and Eve lost their privilege of living in the Garden that God provided for them. Loss is everywhere, isn’t it?

I bet if we were to take fifteen minutes and make a list, it would astonish us as to how much loss we have dealt with. What, though, does all of this loss tell us? What does it say? I know people who seem to go from one loss to another to another before the first loss can even be healed from. When you really think about it, why is life filled with so much of it?

A good friend and mentor of mine said, “It is not easy being human.” To that I would have to agree. It isn’t easy, or always pleasant, and it is not always fun. But I don’t think that life was ever meant to be that way. Going back to that story in the first days, Adam and Eve experienced some of the same loss that you and I do today. Could it be that loss is by design? If so, then why? Many books have been written on this topic. Many professional speakers, Pastors and Preachers have spoken on this topic. It has been addressed from the beginning. So if loss has been around that long and appears to be by design, what are we to take from it and do with it?

The only thing I personally can say about this topic is that there is reason to believe that while we are healing from losses in our life, maybe we are supposed to learn some things as well. I have no magical answers here, nor was I there in the early days but humans are learning creatures. We can think on our own, make decisions based on information available to us, and seek more information. That can very well set us at the top of creation with all of our unique and individual abilities. We learn and grow (change) from experiences everyday, every time, in every facet of life. Could that mean we learn from loss too? I say astoundingly, yes!

Loss teaches us about the value of life and all that is in it. We tend to become more thankful and grateful after we have suffered some kind of loss. Why? Because we realize what we once had and how truly important it was to us. Life tends to take on a new meaning after we have suffered loss. Many times people will come to realize those things which are truly important and those which are not. Our hearts can also grow fonder of people around us, and humbleness can set in as well.

Overall, we realize no matter what we have, it can and sometimes will be taken from us. There are no guarantees that the people you love and care about will be around tomorrow. None of us own the crystal ball of life. What we can do is accept, appreciate, love and be thankful for what we have in our lives right now, today. Loss is coming, I promise you. There is no avoiding it and there is no running from it. We might as well learn to deal with it and grow from it so that we can help, support and be a better friend to those around us so when they deal with those unfortunate events of loss, we can be there for them.


Have a great Friday everyone, be blessed.



Scott Stewart

Author, Speaker and Inspiring others to a life of greatness.

scott@lovelossandgrowth.com