As the sunset as I stood along the inlet in Dubai’s Business Bay, I reflected on the pivots in my life and the times that beliefs, ideas, and even relationships changed. Looking back, there seemed to be “sunset clauses” in my life’s agreement that ended at a point in time, only to be replaced by others. From my vantage point today, some pivotal moments were steps forward, coming-of-age moments. Others took years to correct and realign. They all share a time-based demarcation between one way of understanding life that changed to a different way in a moment.
Reflection-driven whispers created a learning moment as I realised that good pivots were driven by external wisdom and experiences. In contrast, the pivots that I had to fix had an abandonment foundation. One change was shaped by wisdom and relationships, the other by the decision to abandon a belief or idea.
Wisdom and experience do not come with a sunset clause. One may become aware of more and use this to continue one’s learning and growth. The catch is that you cannot cancel the experiences you have been a part of. Once heard, wisdom is always kept in one’s memories. I do forget. It remains forgotten until a sunset reminds me of a teacher’s influence on my life at a pivotal moment. The memories were always with me. It was a reminder that echoed an old writer’s note; “This is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for ‘today.’” (Hebrews 4.8)
Wisdom and experience can be wasted if not used. Today, I have an opportunity to take all that I have and intentionally move towards something better. This movement will not get me as far as I dream, but it will be an opportunity to add to my experiences and learnings. It will be an opportunity for growth. What happens after that is a rinse and repeat of the moment that is now. An opportunity for movement using all the wisdom and experiences that are available.
