I can not really recall where I heard this saying from but it had stayed with me ever since I heard it,''NO ONE EXPERIENCE LEAVE US THE SAME- WHETHER GOOD OR BAD ONES''.Now why did that stay ,you may be wondering? Hmm... Experiences are a part of this life and the choices we make have got one thing or the other to do about what we now call ,''experiences''. I am not sure,but does anyone know if the words,'EXPERIMENT' and 'EXPERIENCE' have the same root word? Well, that wont come to me as a suprise if they do! You ask why? Because the 'experiments' you and I run with& in this life actually make up our 'experiences'... wait a second,guys, I just found it out! My guess is as good as true! The words are actually from the same Latin *root* word,'EXPERIRI' Thanks to my Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary English+CD! Wanna get yours? It helps with the British and American English pronunciations among other goodies! Absolutely fantastic. Get in touch with me if you want to buy yours!
Back to point... Another funny thing is that ,we may not have taken up these 'experiments' that are now 'experiences' by ourselves, but they seem to 'stick' with us like it is ours! I mean, some of the experiences we share,passionate about,hold on to like it is running out of fashion may just not be OUR OWN! It is simply amazing how we hold on to experiences that peeps (mostly those people who are very important and dear to us) have had and take it up like it is ours? And then we wont do anything ,I mean not as much as dare to 'step ' out of that zone or launch into that 'deep' because it hurt,burnt,pained and all that? I mean, not like it is ours,but we just seem to kind of come to build walls, infact some have built monuments,edifices,storey buildings. And incase it is the funny side of the coin that these 'experiments' throw at us we build amusement parks, fantasy islands and towers of letting down our hair, play Rapunzel, and live happily- ever- after! Did you catch that drift? If you read Ladybirds/Disneys ...Read it yourself etc...when u were a child, you would have! *Abi una no go school? * :) Anyways, if you didnt have the experience of those fantastic story books, you may wanna make your kids /pikins,have them, again,holla me,I will sell 'em to you! This kinda experience isnt a bad thang jare!
So ,I have of course had experiences in my rather short(and still counting) life, I mean very remarkable ones. And I aslo admit that I have had to 'carry' some people's expriences like it was mine...and u wont believe that some of 'em (bad/good) actually became mine! Maybe Job was in my position when he said this,''...what I fear so much as now come upon me''! Maybe ,just maybe! He may have put on someone else's experience like it was his and pronto, It fell on him and you bet,what double portion of the ''experience'' that was! lol! Like some double portion anointing ,right? :) Hardly in his case!
What about those (personal) ones? The ones that we have ''been there,done that'' and in this case,we dont only build storey buildings,we know the depth of the building and we are so sure of how deep it hurts and all that! I mean those ones we would shout to the roof tops ,''it happened to me,so I know what I am saying!''
I really dunno why my mind is going down this lane this day but believe me,dear ones, this gal's mind is an ''experience'' on its own! It has been one ''heaven '' of an experience even in itself! Loads and loads ...
Take for instance, you trust some one you love,only for them to disappoint you.And then because you have had that experience,you find it difficult to trust another? You know, it kinda makes everyone else around seem like they are not to be trusted,just because some one who is totally different from them has done that to you. And then those (innocent)ones suffer for what they have done! So funny,right? But it happens. Can you stop to think of the number of people who are so sad ,and so heartbroken right now just because of those experiences ,some from ours ,and majorly from others! Lord ,please give us back our hearts! Amen to that ,somebody?! :) Gracias Muchas!
What about this kinda...I know of someone who would not date anyone with a particular name because they had dated one with that name and was disappointed. Funny? Be careful before you laugh about that , it is someone's experience!
I also know of another infact ,this is so common, of people who wont move an inch close to peeps from a particular tribe because someone from those places have done something wrong to them or someone they know or their great grandmother or great aunt! Pooh! You see, I personally have a problem with this one because it has broken a lot of hearts, broke apart enough homes,marriages,businesses and infact,lives! Why would you use your own experiences to 'affect' mine,hun?! Just because I trust your opinion and maybe because you are some authority figure in my life?! It isnt just fair!
I respect people's opinions,beliefs and all that. I understand that we can not take away experiences from people,I mean it is theirs,they are the ones who have been there,done that!
I also appreciate speakers who have been through 'stuff' talk to me! I like it when you read up books to talk to me but hey! I would listen to an ''experienced'' speaker anyday! I mean, I would 'sit up tighter' to hear him talk to me! He knows what the 'hell' he is saying ! He has been there,done that!
I also understand that it is important that we learn from other people's experiences and all that ,so that we tend to make what has been termed,''informed choices'' But can anyone please tell me, what do those ''informed choices'' make of us at the end of the day? Biased ,short -sighted ,seeing from that (one) perspective and all that! Or,not daring to do beyond what that one has done! Hmmm...mentor- protegee kinda abi? hmmm...Please dont get me wrong, I believe in mentoring , I have mentors! I believe in all that it entails . I also believe that generation next doesnt have to go through the same failure route that the one that has gone before it has gone and all that.But this is the issue here? What kinda information are those made up of? Are they the ones that wont let you be who were supposed to be from the foundations of the world? What kinda exactly? Please tell.
I also understand that some (personal) experiences have formed edifices in our minds that we dare not try them out again! It is then suprising how many people never rise beyond a particular place in life? Hmmm.. This brings to mind this quote by Mark Twain, one of my favourite quotes and one I find rather handy at this point in time.He said and I quote, ''We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again, and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.''
Very profound statement, you would agree? hun?
What then is the solution,people ...We all have been through one thing or the other,we all habour this and that and have lines&boundaries we wont cross. See, believe me ,I am gonna be as objective as possible in all this as I truly realise that this is some soft spot ,no go area place. I have had my (fair) share of experiences...welll ,I must quickly remember to add that I can not take yours from you,it is yours.And mine is mine! But ....
This edifice that you have built in your mind about this and that, what are you willing to do with them? Will they again affect someone positively or negatively? Would it end the wickedness around the world or would it simply compound issues?Would we find healing to the wounds,hurts etc in our world today through your experiences? Or are you gonna just add to our woes?
Pray tell, what are those edifices for? Or would you rather stop 'construction' work on that 'site 'of your (bad) experiences? Would you like me(I dare say) ,walk away from them and start all over?
Would you let all those experiences about gender,tribe,sex,weather,personality,relationship, (even food)etc bring about the best in our world instead of the pain therein,would you let us walk right into our gain? Who knows whether we had to go through them so that we would make others strong(er)? Maybe it really isnt about us in the first place. Maybe it was that we might appreciate life from such and such angles. Truth be told, quite a number of people have said to me in confidence of how tired they are of people with such experiences of woes! We need the experiences of hope,people! Enough of those kinda!
Gosh! I feel like pausing right now and tell you again ,how really sorry I am about talking to you about experiences and letting go and all that! It isnt like I really know what and what you have been through that I now think I can just talk to you about it in this ''lousy'' note .
But again, I crave your indulgence and tell you that the world needs you and I to come out of our dying experiences and make it a healing one for the world and then make it a better,safer place to live in. Think about it, this viciuos cycle wont end if and when we still hold on to them! THe cycle of bitterness,hate,prejudices,and all the other distant and close cousins of ''our'' experiences!
Let's break down the foundations of this edifices that we have built...truth is ,if we dont,it is all still gonna end some day. And u def dont wanna end it here with with all that luggage(s)and all. Ok,let's imagine this...you are a parent and you wont hear it of your child getting to marry a particular fellow not because of anything contrary to God's word but because of ''YOUR EXPERIENCES'' and at the end of the day, you pass on in life and then they still get to marry. What say you to all that? Isnt it as long as breath remains that you talk about ''YOUR EXPERIENCES?''
Please dont get this twisted ...I am not advocating that we drop or lose our standards,values and belief systems ,at least the ones that have thus far,kept us from the world's insanity and all that. But could we take time out to check (well) ,what those things are made up of? We may just need to (re)align,(re)adjust ,(re)prioritize,those things that we hold on to so dearly. Yeah,that very thing we wont let go of because of that experience(s).
Please lemme share this bible verse with you. It is for me (the bible,I mean) ,where I 'run' to for help to REALLY walk away from all that hurt and cause me pain & of course to find answers to puzzling questions. There is where I majorly find real rest from all the loads life(er...experiments from life) has thrown my way. Afterall, therein lies the blueprint of our lives!
It is Saint Paul's writings to the people in Corinth and still very relavant to us even today.
...who comforts us in all our suffering, so that we may be able to comfort others in all their suffering, as we ourselves are being comforted by God. International Standard Version (© 2008).
Wonderful,I actually was so encouraged by that!
Wow! Now check out this version by Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
1:1-11 ''We are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The Lord is able to give peace to the troubled conscience, and to calm the raging passions of the soul. These blessings are given by him, as the Father of his redeemed family. It is our Saviour who says, Let not your heart be troubled. All comforts come from God, and our sweetest comforts are in him. He speaks peace to souls by granting the free remission of sins; and he comforts them by the enlivening influences of the Holy Spirit, and by the rich mercies of his grace. He is able to bind up the broken-hearted, to heal the most painful wounds, and also to give hope and joy under the heaviest sorrows. The favours God bestows on us, are not only to make us cheerful, but also that we may be useful to others. He sends comforts enough to support such as simply trust in and serve him. If we should be brought so low as to despair even of life, yet we may then trust God, who can bring back even from death. Their hope and trust were not in vain; nor shall any be ashamed who trust in the Lord. Past experiences encourage faith and hope, and lay us under obligation to trust in God from time to come. And it is our duty, not only to help one another with prayer, but in praise and thanksgiving, and thereby to make suitable returns for benefits received. Thus both trials and mercies will end in good to ourselves and others .
*When we dont even have a relationship with God,how then do we get comfort? It is like been naked in winter. Or like being inappropriately dressed for the weather! It will kill! We have got to be 'dressed' with God to get the right 'clothing' for the right 'weather'. The weather is life and God is the right clothing for the right weather!*
So,all that life has 'thrown' my way isnt just for me to wallow in self- pity ,form facts and figures, grumble, whine, hate, build castles and edifices and or storey buildings! I was meant to be strong for others because it is in that ,that I will find my strength! Wow! What incredible ,remarkable,considerable and highly phenomenal feat that would be! The whole idea wasnt really about us,it was about other people! To make life better! More people dont have to go through our hurt lane...
Wait a minute, maybe we aint even truthful enough to see or even tell how we contributed to the woes in our experiences. That isnt to say ,however, that we are guilty of them all. But one thing that I personally hate to do (when and if I have to), is to blame another for my troubles! Phew!
Now this topic is getting wider! lol! And before I write a book on you, please have me stop here and go stop to think about what I have said to you too...
...bring (my) body under subjection. Saint Paul said, "I buffet my body and bring it under subjection, lest having preached to others I myself should be a castaway."
We are in this together,it all just depends on the degree to which we are willing to let God break down those edifices formed/built by (Y)OUR EXPERIENCES.
Awemoreborelanlay©, (is still) a work in progress!
03042009
14:38 GMT.
