"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24) Jesus' image of the wheatgrain symbolises not just our mortal life, but the many times we die a little before our death: with every parting, moving of house or job, loss of a friend or dear one, with any loss of property. To cling to what we have lost is to bury our life in the past. Even the most painful loss can be a new beginning.
Lord, you sometimes ask us to face the death to our own desires and ego in the daily contradictions and rebuffs of our long lifetimes. There too the sacrifice of the ego enables us to bear much fruit.