What is Loss and does Loss matter?
Can we map loss on a 2x2 and decide which gradient of loss we are ideally good with
I write about business, productivity and marketing along with random musings on self and spirituality. But the topic of loss is confusing to categorize for me.
What kind of loss am I talking about here? Does a loss of limb ever equate with financial loss? And if not, why do our analogies have an eye for an eye, or ‘a kidney for an iphone’, and so on.
Does loss of love feel closer to the loss of purpose, and can loss of courage be understood with the same intensity as loss of trust?
Ok, objectively, does a debilitating financial loss begin to equate with physical loss at some point on the loss arc? Can we map loss on a 2x2 and decide which gradient of loss we are ideally good with, i.e., which is objectively good and subjectively bearable for the short or the long term.
Maybe we can, maybe somebody already abides by it, maybe somebody looks forward to experiencing loss as a means to learn/live life. There are all kinds of people out there, no kidding. Some self help gurus will also tweet about how emotionally gratifying an experience like this can be. I would agree with them and generalize by saying that personal transformation comes with a trade-off, and most often we don’t/want to plan for the trade off but it comes unannounced, and makes our story look shinier in hindsight. We begin to like the new ending that the story of loss brings us and hence it becomes an experience in teaching, unpredictability, self-discovery, and eventually self-healing.
It is counter intuitive though because if any loss would eventually be a good thing, why does the idea of incurring loss make us sad? I’m not talking about the obvious here, I’m not interested to indulge you in the hundred psychosomatic reasons and pain-anticipators etc, but purely from logic, why do we not look forward to loss? Who made the theory of gain an existential belief? When gurus talk about bringing ‘balance’ in life, are they talking about the actual give-and-take, or gain-and-loss? I’m not so sure. To me, it doesn’t make sense yet. The pursuit of a way of life, the aversion to loss and the affinity towards gain. But I do wonder, if I was not aiming for ‘something’, then how does my inner self evaluate life? Why do I reflect more than necessary on some stranger’s death, why does that bring me to fear for my own and my loved ones, why does someone’s diseased life bring me grief. I don’t know if the explanation — “human beings feel without control” cuts it for me yet.
Share your thoughts with me below..
