“I don’t cry because things are over. I smile because they happened.” -David Pollack
David Pollack was a rising football star whose NFL career was cut short by a neck injury. The above quote was his response to people asking if he was sad that it was over so soon.
Now I was nowhere close to playing at the level of David, so I can’t relate, but I can apply it to the lows of my own life.
My parents’ divorce, moving numerous times, losing a childhood friend, death of relatives, to name a few.
We all experience loss, but David’s quote helps to reframe how we view the loss.
I think about my divorce. Of course, I cried that it was over, so what’s there to smile about?
I think about all the “what-ifs” that led to me meeting my ex. What if I didn’t go to school in Nebraska? What if I met someone else?
I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I know that the choices I made brought me to this point. And because of those choices, I experienced a severely painful loss, but also gained the greatest gift.
Three wonderful kiddos.
Loss is a part of life and it can crush us if we only look at the negative. The way to move forward is to mourn the loss and then look for the good. It might be hard to see at first but the search is what will help you move through to the other side.