The Art of Losing

One Art 

 The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan’t have lied.  It’s evident

the art of losing’s not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

~Elizabeth Bishop, 1911 - 1979 

Life, and the things in it are fleeting. No matter how hard you try you will always lose something. As someone with a terrible memory this is very true. I can never remember the names or faces of the people I know, no matter how long I've known them. My parents have in just the past month made their divorce final. And Doctors recently confirmed that I have an eye disease that will cause me to go blind in my late thirties. I have lost so many things in my life but I am happier than I have been in a while. I have learned not to grasp my life tightly in my hand, attempting to keep God from changing it, but rather to let it rest in my open palm and let Him shape my future how He wants to.

And now: A poem of a poem.

The art of losing is easy to master

Sometimes it's painless

Like losing a hat or

Sometimes it's hard

Like losing a friend

Losing your income

Or burying your dead

But sometimes we lose things 

On purpose. 

For joy.

I lost my first house

but gained a four legged boy

I lost my shame

but I've never been stronger

Mother lost a husband

But she gained two daughters

I lost my control

But I gained peace in my soul

Question of the blog: What have you lost?
This oughta be a cheery one...

TTFN! That's tata for now!