I believe that life is meant to teach us wisdom. Wisdom comes through the distillation of of our experiences. The older we are, the more of life we have experienced, ergo, the more wisdom we should have (Some of us are better at sussing out wisdom than others.)
But what is the most important piece of wisdom life has to offer?
In his book of stories called The Orthodox Heretic, Peter Rollins, tells a story in which God sends out messengers into the whole world to gather the world’s wisdom into a great library. But the library holds too many books for people to read, so God requests the wisdom to be distilled into one book. But the book is still too big for people to read. Then God says to condense the wisdom into one word that can be spread far and wide.
What was this word that contained all the world’s wisdom? “Love.”
Love of our family, for our neighbors, love for our enemies, love of God, love of ourselves is the most important piece of wisdom life can teach us.
But by love, I don’t mean warm or romantic feelings toward others or God, although that can certainly be a part of it. Rather, love is being selflessly and passionately committed to the wellbeing of others. That is the wisdom life wants to teach us. That is the wisdom that is light in our twilight years.
“In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions or human success, but rather on how much we have loved.”
“In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions or human success, but rather on how much we have loved.” St. John of the Cross
Jim Cyr is a trained spiritual companion who helps older adults reflect on the meaning of their lives and how God has been present or absent as they face the challenges of aging and end of life.
You can learn more about Jim at www.jimcyr.com.