Connors: Life's stages should be experienced full out

After 19 years at my job, which I loved, in Kansas City, I decided to move to San Diego. I kept that dream alive with a huge poster of The Cove in La Jolla hung on my garage wall. It sparked hope anew every time I left the house or returned.

One fine day it was as if sun broke through the clouds of all the reasons not to do it. I was finally left with no reason not to leave the well-anchored boat of my life and walk into the unknown.

My ‘yes’ at last grew far greater than my “no’. My heart finally arrived at “if not now, when?.” For years I dreamt about moving to San Diego to be near my children — my grown children.

In an astonishing split second, though, and after many moments of wishing and hoping, in my heart and soul I heard a crystal clear yes. A brand new and yet unknown new era in my life began to unfold.

Life is like that, I think. Stages, phases, eras and epochs. Hopes and dreams that lived on the back burners of your life leap into the forefront.

The stars line up and a door opens — always on the inside first. Each stage brings its challenges, its hopes, disappointments, and, if you tend well the fire in your heart, new opportunity, new adventures and new joy smile their way into your life.. 

Wisdom grows well in this soil and you come to see that hope really is unconquerable. In fact, we came hardwired with hope. Wisdom dawns when dancing with our hopes not our fears and worries. Acting on our hopes develops our inherent resilience and greatness of character along with the wisdom of years of learning from our experiences.

Recently, professional soccer player, Cristian Ronaldo, said, “When I was young I told my dad that we are going to be rich and have a big house. He told me that it was impossible. Today I have what I said but I don’t have my father.”

Something clouded his father’s unconquerable hope. I don’t want that to happen to me. Life is meant to be lived while we’re living — full out, wizened by overcoming life’s challenges.

We’ve had a long year to keep hope alive in the midst of the pandemic, isolation and drastic changes in our cherished lifestyle. But, darkness can never overcome the light. Hope cannot be defeated. It lives and breathes as the soul of the universe and all creation.

Like all things, though, hope requires nourishment. Faithfully nourishing small hopes empowers big hopes. Looking back over the years of life’s lessons, wisdom dawns and we muster the courage to take action to live a meaningful, full life while we are living — no matter what the phase or stage of life.

It’s a gift to pause and become aware of, maybe even write down, what we hope for now. Pausing to appreciate changes we’ve made as a result of lessons learned is a gift to our soul.

Anyway you look at it, life is short. Carpe diem! 

Editor’s Note: Sharon Connors is the reverend at the Unity Spiritual Center, 10101 W. Coggins, Sun City.