Have you ever had to lose something in order to gain something else? Perhaps you left a job in order to gain a career, or let your child grow and go, gaining an adult but experiencing the loss of an empty nest. Perhaps it was more profound, such as a life change.
Change often involves a loss and usually involves a gain. That gain might not be immediate. And how we wish it was! It requires that we let go. Sometimes, even when they are not serving us well, we hold steadfastly to our ideals, our goals, our dreams just so we don’t have to experience the pain of loss. Life circumstances might force our hand, making us take that risk, break out of our comfort zone and cut loose, creating a necessary loss. And in the end, a greater good prevails.
Judith Viorst explores this very deep reality of the human condition in her book Necessary Losses. Her best-selling classic on love, loss and letting go helps one to put into perspective, what living through inevitable change is all about.