Epictetus offered a hard but tender teaching: never say you've lost something, only that you've returned it. The people and things we love were never truly ours to keep; they were lent to us for a while. This sounds cold until you sit with it. It's actually an invitation to love what's here more fully now, instead of half-numb to it, assuming there's endless time. You don't have to think about loss morbidly. You can simply let the fact that nothing is permanent make today's ordinary blessings feel less ordinary. Hold them with open hands, not a clenched fist. Today, look at someone or something you love and let yourself feel grateful it's here right now.

Inspired by the old idea of impermanence. Written by Ugo Charles.