Experience: The Master Teacher

Sometimes as an “elder” it is hard to watch our young people make some of the mistakes we made growing up. It’s so easy to give them advice; the problem is they seldom take it. Just like we messed up, they must have their turn at figuring out what life is all about. And experience is the master teacher – not advice.

Advice only goes so far anyway because we are all different and our circumstances will be as varied as our personalities. What drives us, how we were raised, how many siblings we have, where we went to school, the opportunities we have, how we react to things. So while our advice can be a great thing, it seldom meets the criteria for anyone else. Each of our lives are unique, on its own path – and that’s the joy of it!

There comes a point when we must accept that we can't control others’ paths and know that it is a good thing. Even our own children must carve their own trail based on who they are and their desires. And one of the joys of life can be watching them trail-blaze through life. To see what mountains they climb!

Let’s get out there and climb our own mountains, make our own experiences – and keep our advice to a minimum. Experience. The master teacher in all things.