Each day we go through all kinds of experiences–some good, some bad. We have fun experiences, irritating experiences, wonderful experiences, and mediocre experiences. It is often said that we learn from these experiences just as we learn from our mistakes. It might be the case. As I mentioned in my last post, mistakes are our opportunities for learning, but experiences, on the other hand, seem to be a bit different. Some experiences may be less than educational for us, and some experiences we have chosen to forget, buried in the dust of the past and our shroud of memories.
But, I must say that there are experiences that are gateways to other experiences and shapers of our attitudes, behaviors, and lives. They are preludes so to speak of our destinies, directions, and the paths we will eventually choose. Experiencing God for instance is a necessity more than it is a luxury. In the days of the Old Testament, experiencing God was a rarity, reserved for a select few. These days, however, now that the Lord dwells within the heart of every believer, experiencing God has become more of a reality than some Old Testament folklore. It is through experiencing God for ourselves that we come to know Him for who He truly is, and collectively and individually, our experiences we have with him are always valuable and precious. They are experiences of quality that we both remember and learn from.
I emphasize the quality of the experience because it is these experiences that are more memorable and distinctive compared to some of our other daily encounters. It is these experiences that guide into us other directions. My love for drawing floor plans and houses as a child sparked my interest in being an architect. For a long time, I wanted to be an architect, and taking architectural design classes in high school made me want to pursue that path even more so. It was the experiences I had as a child, designing miniature rooms, drawing, and watching design shows that led me to that decision.
Later on, you can probably imagine what happened. That’s right. I became an interior designer. It’s like an architect, but not. Why did that happen? Why did I not pursue my dreams to be an architect? Specifically, because of my experiences with Physics and Algebra II. I tolerated the former and despised the latter. Although I had some comical experiences and adventures in Physics, I knew that it was not the class for me. Even though I got a good grade and still get excited over things like wavelengths, and from time to time, I think about relative motion when I’m in sitting in the car, Physics is not something I have a desire to think hard about. I like thinking about it casually. As for Algebra II, when I dropped that class in high school, I had no problem dropping all the information that went with it out of my mind. The experiences I had with both classes fueled my decision to choose interior design, because in reality, that is what I enjoyed doing. Had the quality of my experience with both classes been better would I have still decided to be an architect? I am not very sure, but I do not regret my decision, either.
However, I believe my teachers did the best that they could with what they had. My physics teacher, especially, created a very memorable experience, seeing that I actually take notice of physics in the real world, ten years later. That is what John Dewey would call the “continuity of experience.” These are not moments stuck in the time; they are ones that are continuously shaping our thoughts, our lives, and how we view the world.
Solemn Radio 