When we use the word profound to describe loss, we imply that there are shallow and insignificant losses in comparison. Frankly, profound (meaningful) sounds meaningless when attached to loss. How does the loser make sense of the world? And do those who have reached places of success attribute that to their losses? The word loser has its limits, of course, often used negatively. Society accepts the loser once he has leaped into change or amounted to something. I think we can easily carve out space for our losses and losers. How do we measure significance, change, loss, and the loser? Let the artists do what they’re good at and get us closer to answers and reconsiderations.
Celine Aljamil
We have all experienced some form of loss at some point in our lives. Whether it be minor like forgetting your favorite stuffed animal at a restaurant when you were five or losing a loved one unexpectedly. Yet it seems like loss is an ever-present emotion when living in Lebanon, especially now. It lingers around at family dinners. It engulfs your insides the moment you wake up. It resides in your future plans and parasitically inhabits past wounds. Loss is something we have gotten accustomed to, an uninvited stranger we had no other choice but to live with.
Cyrille Nammour
Loss is an unfortunate experience that we all face in our lives, it even sneaks up on us as kids when we don’t know better and surprises us again in the future when we think we know it all. As you grow older, you might think that you will get more out of life, yet sometimes you end up losing a lot more than what you expected. Coming to terms with loss is a challenge, a challenge we might never be able to overcome or perhaps might overcome when it’s already too late. Loss serves as a reminder to take care of what we already have and never take anything for granted. Sometimes things slip from us when we least expect it. Because of that, we should always treasure everything we currently have before we reach the inevitable moment of saying goodbye.
Mohammad Hashisho