Eleanor Roosevelt quotes, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost.” We grow as an individual and our life experience teaches us whole life. I am sharing 5 stunning life experiences that can change our whole approach towards life.
Life Experience -1
[Right or wrong is a Myth]
It was raining and my farmer friend was looking miserable. This was October and farmers were busy in sowing seeds of mustard and wheat [Rabi Crops]. In India, the post-monsoon period is also from October to December usually. Hence whenever any farmer plans to sow seeds, he also monitors weather.
It is assumed that if it rains after a week of sowing seeds, it will improve the production of harvest. My friend also sowed mustard seeds just a day before the rain. In such a situation, the upper surface of the soil becomes hard and it makes sprouting of a seedling from a seed difficult hence it can cause whole harvest loss.
“Yesterday raining was not good.” He stated.
Suddenly the mobile phone rings. One of his relatives was in great happiness and exhilaration. He said, “It is raining exactly after germination of mustard seeds. Hopefully harvest will be good.”
“Now what will you say about raining?” I quoted. He found no exact sentence to deliver that time.
This was a stunning life experience of my life because it teaches me about the biggest myth; we encounter with everyday. I learn that if something is good for me; it may be wrong for others.
Our viewpoints are the result of our background, education, upbringing, and training and also, our response, interpretation and analysis of that environment. Primarily this is our interpretation which makes things right or wrong. This simple life experience teaches not to inflict our thoughts on others. Life is for sharing, not to impose viewpoints.
Life Experience -2
It is always easy to criticize
I first saw the Arabian Sea at Juhu Beach, Mumbai. Walking with family and friends in the water on the beach was a remarkable experience. But I was bit annoyed looking at the debris on the beach. There were a lot of plastic bottles, plastic pouches of ice cream, waste ice-cream sticks or even Popsicle on the beach.
Meanwhile, my cousin bought ice-cream for all of us. I was licking ice-cream and concurrently slamming people for their insensitivity towards cleanliness. When I finished ice-cream; I looked for dustbin. I found it no-where and without giving a thought; I threw the ice-cream stick on the beach.
“Now have done right brother?” My cousin told me.
I was feeling ashamed.
Criticizing others always gives us happiness but also, if someone is criticizing us, it also gives pain. In both instances, there is always a clash between egotism. This stunning life experience teaches me the true definition of criticism.
Criticism is not merely our discontent but it is a serious examination and judgement of something.
Life Experience -3
[Importance of mother tongue]
One salesman approached me in a college. He was a Sikh, nearly 60 years of age. He came with a proposal to implement an English Grammar book to our students. This was a routine practice at academic institutions by private book publishers to market books and enhances their sales.
After discussion – I started talking about his life experiences. He shared one of his experiences with his grandson. His grandson was studying in a renowned English medium school in his city. One day he gave 100/- Rupees and told him to buy vegetables from the market.
He went but came home empty-handed. When he asked the reason for not bringing any vegetables? He told him that he had bought all the required vegetables. But he did not know how much is adsadth [sixty-eight in Hindi] rupees.
He told his grandson that adsadth means sixty-eight. His grandson went to the market and brought the vegetables. On the very next day, he took ‘school leaving certificate’ from his grandson’s previous school to admit him in another school with a bilingual education system.
When I asked him the reason for his extreme step; he said, “If my grandson cannot buy vegetables from the market with that education, better is to change the education.”
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He further added, “To market English Grammar books is my profession because to learn an international language is extremely important in this globalized world but we also should not compromise with our mother tongue. Our language is our cultural identity and we should respect it.”
By these words, he departed for his next assignment.
I am also an academician with a specialization in English Literature. This stunning life experience is important to learn the importance of mother tongue amidst people interest to provide complete English medium education to their children.
My children are studying in a school where proper monitoring is implemented towards the improvement of the mother tongue also.
Life Experience -4
[Everything cannot be understood]
It may sound philosophical or metaphysical but this is the experience of my life which is still unexplained to me. This was a family tour especially to Western Ghats of Maharashtra with its final destination at Mumbai.
Near Gateway of India; there were so many tourists enjoying their holidays. We enjoyed the ferry ride in the Arabian Sea & saw the enticing architecture of the Hotel Taj near Gateway of India. It was a wonderful day.
Finally, we decided to leave for the hotel. People were in a rush to move out of that place in the evening hence there was a crowd. Suddenly I saw my wife left behind in that crowd. I can saw her in the crowd but she was not aware of my exact position at that time.
I shouted towards her, “Suman, I am here.”
She responded with affirmation and came towards me.
The most surprising and unexplained thing for both of us is –
My wife name is not Suman. Her name is Deepmala.
She heard the name Suman properly and responded after that. She also did not know why she responded with that name!!!!
In words of Nida Fazli [Translated] –
Look the vast expanse of life
By reducing its size
The expanse of the sky – limits to your eyes
& Whole world – limit to your arms
Perhaps we cannot hold the vastness of the truth.
Life Experience -5
[Some unplanned decisions can bring fruitful results]
We heard a lot about strategy and proper planning before taking any affirmative step in life but does these planning works always? My life experience teaches me something very unusual.
English literature and academics were never my professional priority; indeed it was my hobby to read literature. One of my cousins decided to settle in Australia. She wanted her English good enough to qualify the required test to get a VISA to Australia.
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My academic stream was always science but she insisted me to take admission in postgraduate course [English literature] with her. I told her about my professional priorities and academic background.
Later I took admission taking her continuous insistence in concern. We studied together for 6 months. One day I came to know about her VISA for Australia. This was a shock because the duration of the postgraduate course in English Literature was 2 years.
She left Australia and it was completely on me to continue the said course. Date Sheet for the Final examination was published by the university but I was not prepared for the examination. Later my parents told me to appear in the examination. I qualified for my first year of said course with good marks.
I completed my 2nd post-graduation of my academic career. My previous post-graduation did not bring any professional success to me; indeed it was a planned choice to do post-graduation in computer applications.
You will not believe; as soon as I completed my Master’s degree in English Literature – I got selected in a government job. My cousin is happily settled in Australia and I am happily settled here with a reputed academic job.
This stunning life experience teaches me that there is always something which is decided by nature itself. We need to just follow.
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A very nice article…about Real life Experiences…
I like the experience point 3
Everything cannot be understood…
And 4
Mother tongue…that’s why I didn’t try to think about English…??
we can have better learning outcomes for Mother tongue in school Education…