Which came first the chicken or the egg?

Saint Augustine was quoted saying, "Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.", C.S. Lewis also wrote, "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.". I found myself asking the question is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? I'm not just talking about relationship love but also love for family, things, animals, friends... when I was a young tot I got this little tiger, his name was Kelly, he went everywhere with me first day of kindergarten, swimming lessons, out to eat, he even had a birthday and yes it was celebrated. I think that was the first time I ever experienced 'love'; I had Kelly until his eyes were falling off and stuffing was coming out, one day I came home from school and he was gone, my aunt had thrown him out, I believe I felt my heart break for the first time; if I never loved that thing I would have never felt that pain. I've found myself saying, I wish I were the tin man cause if I didn't have a heart I wouldn't miss you so, so I really believe this? The first time I had my heart broke in a serious relationship, I didn't think I would ever get over that pain and to this day I still remember it. Once again, if I never had loved, I would have never felt my heart break into pieces; I had so many great memories and was so happy in love, on cloud nine but was all that happiness worth the pain at the end? People say its the memories that make it worth it, when I think of those memories I feel happiness and sadness, sadness because it brings up the good times and happiness because it was wonderful. After my heart healed I think I am glad I had the experience but still the question remains. I also lost a family member very close to me, I hated the feeling it gave me, to this day I have not found anything that has hurt me as bad as either of these experiences. When I think back on memories of my aunt, sometimes I get a little tear in my eye, mostly because I think of her and remember the good times we had; but once again, if I had never loved her like I did I would have never felt the pain that I did. I believe this question for me is like which came first, the chicken or the egg, I will never know the answer, there are pros and cons to everything. Is it possible to go threw life and never love anything or have feelings? Maybe, maybe not but all this being said I try to keep in mind that all good things come to an end, be it death, the end of a relationship or a pet running away and that without pain you will never know the true feeling of happiness.

Sometimes I find myself wishing I were an animal, a bird, or a dog, anything because they don't feel pain, or so you think. It had been studied that even birds and dolphins can die of heartbreak, a type of bird called the love bird, two birds find each other and grow together, if they are separated or one dies, the other will die. If dogs, or anything for that matter, are raised together from birth, and one dies the other will starve itself and eventually die from heartbreak.