All teachings are mere references. The true experience is living your own life. – Deng Ming Dao, 365 Tao
We can depend on formal education and religious training only so much. There comes a time when we must put what we’ve learned to the test. We do this by going out and living and trying things we haven’t done before. We do this by trying to exceed what we have already become and we owe this effort not only to ourselves, but our fellow humans.
Some don’t like to do this, either because they fear their efforts will result in failure or because they feel they are casting aside and dismissing what they were taught. Nothing is further from the truth.
The lessons our institutions – family, school, the church – teach us provide the groundwork for what we are to become. They do not hold us back, but rather propel us forward by providing the foundation for a thoughtful, well-lived life.
We must not be afraid to put these lessons to the test. When our experience shows us something different than what we were taught, we must not be afraid to accept this and apply it to our lives. It is the way us humans grow, how we advance individually and collectively.
We must not cling to the past too tightly. We must always be willing to learn the lessons life offers us
