“In the hero stories, the call to go on a journey takes the form of a loss, an error, a wound, an unexplainable longing, or a sense of a mission. When any of these happens to us, we are being summoned to make a transition. It will always mean leaving something behind,...The paradox here is that loss is a path to gain.”

“Time and again, we let the fear of loss overpower rational decision-making and often make ourselves worse off just to avoid a potential loss. Psychologists call this loss aversion, and it means we often tend to prefer avoiding losses at the expense of acquiring gains.”

“There is a widespread sense of loss here, if not always of God, then at least of meaning.”

“Our world was created with a sense of order. For every loss, there is a gain. Sometimes we are so blinded by the loss that we don't see the gain, don't recognize the gift.”

“Loss is loss, and nothing is gained by calling it by a nicer name.”

“...we are all wont to make mistakes, but if we learn from each trick, each error, and refuse to allow it to happen again, then the experience is not a loss, but a lifelong gain. Our pride may sting for the moment, but our future will be the better for it.”