Loss and renewal is a pattern so constant and ubiquitous that it hardly could be called a secret. Yet it is still a secret, because we do not want to see it. We did not want to embark on a further journey if it feels like going down, especially after we put so much sound and fury into going up. This is certainly the first and primary reason why so many people never get to the fullness of their own lives. The supposed achievements of the first half of life have to fall apart and show themselves to be wanting in some way, or we will not move further. Why would we?
-- Richard Rohr, Falling Upward
