***New***Hands down, Experience is the Best Teacher!!
Experience by definition is "practical contact with and observation of facts or events". Experience has always been deemed the best teacher. For it is through our senses we determine firsthand whether or not we enjoy an experience, and decide if we want to partake in it. Making the decision to be a part of an experience often teaches and molds us better than a parent or teacher. A person of authority can preach a message but how can you truly learn if you don't apply the lesson. Being up close and personal with an event and our observation of it has the ability to burn or delight us, and this is how we come to learn our limits and what we're willing to indulge in.
Top experiences we encounter in life: education, relationship, job, childbirth, spiritual, death, pain, and the list goes on.
Why is experience the best teacher? Through experience we gain wisdom. This wisdom cannot be attained without experience. The more experiences we have, the more wisdom we have in choosing what’s best for us.
Do experiences really make us wiser? Through trial and error we began to learn about ourselves (strengths, weaknesses, character) this can help us to become greater individuals. "Play with fire you get burned", it is through our experience of the fire we learn we don't like it.
What should I do after an experience? Reflect upon the experience. Was it pleasant or uneasy? Acknowledge the experience (Trust me on this). Feel all of the emotions related to the experience and choose to continue the experience or not.
Personal Testimony: I, like many of you have encountered many experiences that have caused pain and delight. One experience I'd like to share is, I chose to park in a private lot without paying the meter. In the past I had skipped out on paying meters; and this particular instance I wand up paying for all the combined tolls I had ever skipped out on paying during my 3.5 years living in Miami. This was one of those unpleasant experiences that changed my perspective on parking without feeding the meter. As a result I am more respectful of parking enforcement rules and regulations, and paying meters. An amazing quote by Erykah Badu states “the sooner we learn from our mistakes the better we will be”. I like to think I learn the most through experience. Experiences can be trail and error, but we must learn from them and grow!
When going though an Experience keep in mind the following:
Choose your decisions wisely as experiences are sure to follow.
Pray and spend moments in solitude so that you are guided properly.
Lean on your friends and elders (for wisdom) to offer support and advice during difficult experiences.
If you don’t like an experience make the necessary changes you can to end them.
Share how your experiences impacted you with others; because you may never know how they will heal from your testimony.
Much Gratitude,
RJ
