This world glorifies winning, victory, prevailing and success. Many disdain talk of anything but the positive. To discuss losing, suffering defeat, and the lack of success is dour for the pedestrian. “I’m on the side of a winner!”, “I’m a winner,” and “Think like a winner” all intone today’s mantras. It’s fine that positivity means thinking positively. All should take stock of the good things in life, as well as dreams and hopes. This column concerns remaining positive in the face of loss — living beyond loss. Whether the optimists admit it, no life occurs without loss.

These days, one reads about lost lives, lost loved ones, and of course, the many who die in distant or local wars, conflicts, shootings, and the like, depending on where we find ourselves. There are also new lives and lives saved through various actions, as well as new experiences, new beginnings, and new opportunities. There are more ordinary and extraordinary losses of all types in our world.

I recently accepted a loss, the loss of a hoped-for........

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