“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

                                                                                    ~ Dr. Seuss

Life is full of losses, and losses can be painful. Most of us have experienced the loss of someone or something that was important to us at some point in our lives. Some losses are more crippling than others, such as devastation from a tornado or hurricane or the loss of someone very close to us, or maybe the loss of our own health.

But inside every loss is the memory of a happier time, and the memory of those times is a gift, in spite of the loss. And inside every loss is the closing of one door so another can open.

The memory of whatever moments of joy we have experienced should be savored and cherished. Losing someone or something doesn’t need to tarnish the memories.

Just because something is temporary doesn’t make it bad.

Losses are painful but we are still alive – so we must look for the lesson in the loss.

As we go through our lives, some losses are inevitable, such as the loss of our childhood. When we choose a career path, we may be closing the door to other career choices.

Many of us experience the loss of our parents or grandparents, or maybe a cherished pet. We watch our children grow up and move out. We may lose possessions such as a totaled car, or we may experience loss from a fire or storm.

In the end, all of life is temporary, and that makes it so important to learn to embrace today.

We can smile in the midst of loss. We can remember the good times and trust there will be other good times.

As Sufi Epigram said, “When the heart grieves over what it has lost, the spirit rejoices over what it has left.”