Lessons From Losing

We have all had our share of finding ourselves on a particular losing end of a situation.  We could not have existed as long as we have, without having these type of experiences.  When I think back to what could be my earliest memory of this, perhaps it would be playing a game of tag and being the last one who was it.  Although it may have been disappointing being in the company of friends or family that were part of the game that I had lost, the experience still made me laugh as we marched on to our next game.  Then there was the time at elementary school when our team lost the kick ball game that we should have won and again there was that sinking feeling followed by a pat on the back by the teacher or friend on the team, making me feel just a bit better about not winning.  When I think about those early losses, I remember that I was focused on not losing again immediately afterwards.  The thing about losing is that it does give you tougher skin almost right away, while it strengthens your resolve to be better so that we can be on the winning end the next time around.  As we get older, some of the losses may be considerably deeper, which can take more than a pat on the back to get over them.  I recall that one of my favorite teachers in 7th grade, Miss Tanner, was the person who had a small library in her classroom and within it, were books by the author C.S. Lewis and I first read Prince Caspian as a result.  She introduced me to this magical world and the stories within them, made my imagination soar above the clouds along with some of those flying magical creatures that were part of this other world.  After arriving in high school a couple of years later, I found out over the summer before my freshman year began, that Ms. Tanner had been in a car accident on her way back from visiting family in Utah and lost her life in the process.  I remember that it was the feeling of losing someone who I never told how much she meant to me, as one of my favorite teachers that I would never see again.  I still remember her smile and stories about how she would make fake ice cream from the falling snow back home in Utah, that still remain with me to this day  While the older we get, the more we see the loss of life among our loved ones which also bring us to our breaking point.  I have learned that I need to ask myself not too long afterwards, what did I learn from them?  This also evolved into, how could I continue to honor the memory of someone that I loved, so that they remained part of me and feel like I could still make them proud.  There are many varied answers to these questions, however, my point is that we continue to learn from all of these losses, as we work towards making ourselves a little bit better everyday.  Last week we lost Ms. Aretha Franklin who was an iconic singer whose hits dotted the history of my life growing up.  Another loss for all of us who enjoy great music, however, I am thankful that there exists many video and music clips where we can relive and celebrate the great talent that she was to all of us.  I hope that as you think about loss and what you learned, that you are also able to manage a smile when you think about how much you have improved your life as a result of the lesson which followed those experiences.  While we are still alive, we get to learn more lessons, that we hope to pass down to others so that their road may not be as bumpy and more illuminated than our may have been.