Importance of people and things.

At what point do people realize how much something means to them? I think that they realize the importance of things and people when they lose them. I have both experienced this and I have seen other people go through this. As people we take things for granted and do not realize that we are. We just think that everything will always be the same. This is not true however and when things do change for the worst and we lose someone or something then we become distraught. It is hard for people to realize this until this actually happens. It is then we realize that a person is more than just a person.