A friend of mine has been hit by a tragedy. Out of respect for his privacy, I am not going to go into details. (Those of you who know, know. Those of you who don’t know, don’t need to know. This is not the sort of thing you broadcast on the ‘net.)

It has rocked me. It is the kind of thing you read about, but never think will touch your life. For someone known for and by his words, I find myself at a loss for them.

I fins myself thinking about all the things we have in our lives, and how often we find ourselves reliant on them and defined by them. The loss of any of them would be annoying and bothersome to greater or lesser degrees (depending on the item… losing your ipod is an annoyance, losing your car much more of a problem, you get the idea).

But they are, ultimately, things and can be replaced. There are other pieces of our lives that cannot. There are fundamental parts of us that leave an unfillable void when they are taken away, and in many ways we take them for granted.

Anything with a price can be replaced.

Some things are truly priceless, and should be treated that way.