Loss

I am learning about loss.  The hard way. 
I think that this is the main lesson of life before me.  Just when you think that you have reached an equilibrium point in life, you lose a friend or a pet or a tooth!  And, suddenly, life is not all about you.  That beloved person will not be there ever again and all you really have are your memories of them.  Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, these losses are a shock to our systems.  They are unwanted reminders that life is fleeting and that in loving we have sown the seeds of loss.
There is no protection from loss.  There is no protection from death.  Whether it comes fast or very slowly, after we have lived a long, long time, it comes for us. 
The more losses I experience, the more I wish to simplify my life so that I get the biggest bang for the buck out of my time.  
This essay is a work in progress..