Treasure Your Experiences
The purpose is to learn
Treasure Your Experiences
By Melody Beattie
Gather experiences. Treat them as precious jewels. The purpose of the journey is not to guard and restrain yourself. The purpose is to learn. You do not teach and lead your soul. Your soul leads and teaches you. It takes you wading across streams, strolling through meadows, deep into valleys, and high onto mountaintops. It takes you down winding, narrow roads and along fast moving, four-lane highways. It takes you into tiny cafes, bustling cities, and out of the way hostels where people break bread and tell what they have learned.
Let yourself have all experiences. Don’t limit or judge yourself or the adventures you have had. All were necessary, all were important, all have helped shape and form you. Your heart will lead you, guide you where you are to go. Don’t worry about getting lost or off track. Don’t worry about being wrong, or in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Gather experiences. Go through them. Select the gems from each. Listen while others tell their stories, their adventures, and show you their jewels, the truths that they have learned. Then, when you break bread and sip soup with others, open your heart and joyfully share what has happened to you along the way.
Having experiences is called living. Sharing experiences is called loving. Let yourself enjoy both.
I notice the pace of life and ask myself what experiences can I lean into that will create more joy, love, peace, awareness, and gratitude. It’s a remarkable experiment to follow what lights me up. What experiences have you gathered recently? Please share some treasured moments.
Lately, I went back with husband to be at sea. It brought back memories of his sea duty. We had less then, less stress, less resources, only simple means. It was much uncomplicated. Today, we have more but way more complicated too. Working toward less now to embrace a simpler frame of mind and simple living.
We went to hike in Big Sur w the boys. It’s getting harder to carve out the time. Sports, piano, play dates. But it re energizes me and I love the memories so we made it happen. The picture in my head was a beautiful hike and picnic near the ocean. But the flooded river too full and fast to cross with the baby changed our plans. We didn’t know what to do. So we watched a few brave expert hikers and REI regulars cross the pathway with mixed success. Lots of laughs and failed plans later we decided to bag it and go to lunch instead. Ha! I’m not sure if the kids would have differentiated this hike from the dozens others we’ve done in this magical area, but this day and attempt will now always be a funny memory. And funny brings us closer to each other more than anything.
Thanks for the question :) it’s nice to share!