The human body is composed of elements borrowed from nature, and we may have to relinquish it at any time. Even young people die every day, from diseases, in accidents and wars. Reflecting on the fragility of life and impermanence makes our love more intelligent and gives it the protection of wisdom.
Dhamma practitioners reflect on separation and death every day in order to train the mind to accept the undesirable truths that we find difficulty in accepting. Without complacency, we need to do this consistently and for a long while, not just occasionally. If we do so, then when someone dies, even when it’s someone close to us or someone we love, even if the death is sudden, the very first thought in our mind will be that all conditioned things (sankhara) are truly impermanent and how correctly the Buddha taught us. For spiritual practitioners, the sorrow that occurs is tempered by the firm right understanding of the way things are.
— Ajahn Jayasaro, On Love