Part of my Dad’s ability to communicate with people was his use of aphorisms. When I was a young man I thought he either read them heard them from others or they just appeared spontaneously as he spoke. “Wait to worry” “Only criticize as much as the person can correct” and “It’s unfortunate when money accumulates faster than wisdom” were among the hundreds of one-liners we heard growing up. I never thought about the real source of those one-liners until late in his life.

We were sorting through his papers and found a stock certificate for 100 shares that were practically worthless. They were all that was left of what had once been his retirement plan. He had worked for the company for years when he was young and had such confidence in the leadership that he put virtually everything he had in the stock. All of his plans for retirement and his options for the present were based on his belief in that single corporation. For a time it was well placed trust and the value soared over years. Then the leadership changed the value evaporated and Dad was left with a future that was nothing like what he had planned.

I vaguely remember that period because it was about that time he started using a new aphorism “Sit loose to things.” As bad as it was that disaster was also the beginning of the most productive period of his life. He and my mother moved to Texas and started a new business. He began to write books and spend more time with people as a mentor. In fact over the next twenty years he made his most valuable contributions to the lives of others. That would never have been possible without the experience of his loss.

Now when I look at my investments and am tempted to say with Peggy Lee “Is that all there is?” I am reminded again to “sit loose to things” and know that this is not the end of the story for any of us.