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Michael Wacht

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Have you ever lost something you thought to be irreplaceable, only to find it wasn't?

A few years ago I lost some letters, pictures and postcards from loved ones I was saving. Thinking about it now, I find myself conflicted. There is still a small amount of lingering disappointment over the lose. At the same time, I have purged countless things from my life, only to find myself more free and relaxed.

Has anyone else lost something they thought to be irreplaceable, only to find that it was not really missed?

Related Talks:
Topics: how possessions own us meaning memory vs material one of a kind posession value
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    Eun A Jo 10+

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    TED Translator
    Aug 3 2011: When I was first sent abroad to a boarding school, I was 12 years old. I didn't know how to speak English, so you can imagine how difficult that might have been. I started keeping a diary since then, writing down every incident that made me feel lonely, humiliated, and just tired of everything. It was my personal complaint record, with some of the most then-heartbreaking stories of my life. But the diary disappeared one day, and it never came back to me. Maybe someone stole it to ridicule me; maybe I left it somewhere; all the what-ifs and if-onlys haunted me for the first few weeks. I not only felt incredibly vulnerable, but also felt empty as I had lost the means to recall all the hardships that I'd so bravely overcome - the record I had kept so ardently to show my parents how hard I'd tried. Surprisingly though, just as you've experienced it, the disappointment and anger over the loss of the diary abated as days passed. The bundle of memories remained in my head, so I guess the essence of the diary is still with me. In retrospect, It's rather funny how I'd reacted so dramatically towards the loss. How strange I don't feel anything at all now.

  • Catherinesun sun

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    Aug 3 2011: Half one year ago, I met a man who is very nice and considrate when I was on business. More importantly, we had a lot in common. I only spent 7 days with him, then went back. I miss him so much,but we had no chance to meet each other again.
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    Jennifer November

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    Jul 29 2011: I was an Art Major in college, and one year I used all of my credits on drawing classes. I was drawing for about 9 hours a day 4 days a week in class and then countless hours outside of class working on projects to satisfy my credits. We were allowed to choose whatever still life we wanted to draw. My favorite piece I ever create was a beautiful 18x24 charcoal drawing of empty wine bottles lined up by a dark wall with a spot light shining on them at an angle creating all of this movement and shadow. I was my best piece and that day I was singled out in class for my improvement. When it was finished I had it mounted and framed and gave it to my father as a fathers day present. Shortly after that time my father stepped out of my life. I left a lot of things behind at his house but that drawing was the only thing that meant something to me. At the time, that drawing had reminded me of my accomplishments. That was over 6 years ago now, and as I sit writing this story I am happily married with a growing business in design and a lot more accomplishments then just a piece of paper. Although that drawing and those feelings could never be replaced. I know that my accomplishments are only growing by the day and I don't need a portfolio piece to show that off.

  • Lilian Strous

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    Jul 29 2011: I once had a glass that belonged to my favo grandma, she used it every day to enjoy her eggnog.
    It was the only material piece of her I had and I was attouched to it. My kids were playing with a bal in the livingroom and the glass was broken. O well..... Was my only thougt and it didnt change my memory at all.
    material things you owned and lost are not important: they served you for a purpose. Family and friends you have known and lost: its oke, they are still in your memory.
    The only thing I don't want to loose are my children, they are the once that are not replacable (and yes I know I don't own them).

  • Mark Meijer 100+

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    HostAssociate
    Jul 29 2011: Being able to accept the loss of something irreplacable, does not mean it never was irreplacable. You may never have anything to replace those pictures and postcards. Yet you may come to a point where you no longer feel the need to replace them.
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    Sabin Muntean 30+

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    HostAssociate
    Jul 28 2011: I think especially as children we often thought that favourite toys we lost were irreplaceable only to realise as we grow up that they actually were not.

    I can't tell if this is true, since I'm not old enough to tell, but what if things we lose as young adults that we really care about are in the end just the same as our prized toys from our childhood? As we grow older we then realise that they actually were not.

    The question I find even more interesting than realising something is not irreplaceable is whether there are things that really are irreplaceable and will remain so in our minds until we die?
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      Michael Wacht 50+

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      Aug 3 2011: From what I can tell, the only thing irreplaceable is people. Someone else can fill that role in our lives, but no one will replace that person.
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    Emo Bear 30+

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    Jul 28 2011:  
     
    I lost my Catholicism in my late teens. I thought it would be irreplaceable, but I certainly don't miss it knowing what I know now.
     
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      Michael Wacht 50+

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      Aug 3 2011: I had a similar experience, though it took me a bit longer to admit what I always knew.

  • zayed peshimam

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    Jul 27 2011: ex-girlfriends counted? :P
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