Experience Life Instead Of Knowing It
Have you ever met someone who has stories for all occasions? They have such vivid stories that you’d want to stay close to them just for those stories. And as if that wasn’t enough, they also have practical insights about everything in life—from trekking in the mountains, to fixing a car, to dealing with a shoe bite. No matter how trivial the situation, they possess a unique insight. You wonder why you don’t have such stories and insights.
There are two kinds of people: one who understands life by acquiring knowledge. From what they feel to why they feel it, they build a breadth of understanding. The other kind understands life by living it. They don’t mind stumbling from one block to another; they continue walking. They go from one experience to the next, and by doing more things in life, they make sense of both life and themselves.
It’s the second kind of person who has many stories and practical insights. They learned by living. They didn’t mind making mistakes. They didn’t mind the failures and embarrassment of doing things incorrectly. They sailed past that initial stigma and kept going. This is the true essence of life. All the knowledge and wisdom you acquire exists for one purpose—to experience life meaningfully. And the only way to do that well is to live actively.
Stories are your experiences. They aren’t all good. They can be equally bad. But you learn to deal with that too, while living life one day at a time. That’s why traveling feels so good: it brings out our exploratory nature. We learn about a place by doing things there. We learn about a culture by participating in the culture of the place. Sure, one could argue that you can learn a lot by reading a book—and as a reader myself, I don’t deny it—but the point of that knowledge is to apply it to enrich your experience, not to hoard it.
Ask yourself: what is the one thing that’s preventing you from experiencing your life to the fullest? I don’t mean you should quit everything and go traveling solo. That’s just one way to experience life. Have you ever wanted to do something and then managed to do it? How did it feel? That’s you living. Imagine being curious about physics but never bothering to learn it or apply its laws in real life. Imagine being lonely in your bedroom but not having the courage to ask a girl out.
The root cause is the initial embarrassment. Most people avoid this feeling and end up avoiding the entire experience. Failure is only at the beginning—life happens beyond the fear of failure. Imagine worrying about heights so much that you miss out on the beautiful experience of skydiving. Fear keeps you away from life. That beautiful girl you see every day might require you to work on your personality—but it’s worth doing.
Acquiring knowledge isn’t a bad thing by any means. One must learn, one must cultivate inner awareness—but one must also apply that knowledge while living. Do things that excite you. Curious about coding? Why not learn by building a personal app? Curious about music? Buy a piano and try your hands at it. Learn enough to perform in front of friends, or compose a melody. Want to trek a mountain but don’t have company? Join a group. What’s the worst that could happen? No one talks to you, they think you’re weird. But at least you get to trek the mountain.
The essence of life is in doing. The more you experience life, the more you understand it. What’s the point of this beautiful life if you don’t bother to live it?