Epictetus: Never say of anything, "I have lost it"; but,…

Epictetus uses hard language because he wants to confront a hard fact: nothing we love is permanently ours. People are not objects we own, and even possessions are only entrusted to us for a while. Calling a loss a return is not meant to make bereavement neat or painless. It is a way of loosening the illusion that life made an agreement it has now broken. Your friend, your parent, your child, and your partner were never guarantees. They were gifts of time and relationship. That perspective can sound severe, but it can also produce gratitude. Instead of asking why you cannot keep what was never fully yours, you can honor the time you were given. Practice this gently with small losses: a broken device, a changed plan, a possession that wears out. The habit will not erase grief, but it can make room for appreciation beside it.