Lived Experiences

I've been thinking a lot about lived experience. As we leave South Africa, I want to keep in my mind with me as long as I come home that people come from different lived experiences. As we learned from Nate, our professor, lived experience can be applied with space, time, relationships and the human body. Each person experiences things in completely different ways because they come from different backgrounds and experiences. I think something that becomes challenging for many people including myself, is refraining from naming something using quick judgments. A lot of times it's hard to stop and truly think or just be aware of another person's lived experience; being aware of the deeper meanings behind things. Each experience will always be different. I want to stop myself from making those unnecessary preconceived notions about someone by being more mindful about their personal lived experience. As Nate said in class one day, "be aware of the mundane situations, stop to appreciate the simple things in life." I want to make a personal goal to try to instill this in my mind each day. I hope to take a moment each day to reflect, and allow myself to be aware of people surrounded by me who have different lived experiences. At the end of the day, we each experience different things that make us apart of which we are, influence how we think and act. This doesn't mean we can't find similar connection, but it just means we must be aware and appreciative of the differences. I think for me, being able to know and accept that people come from different lived experiences will help me become more understanding with individual. When I encounter someone I find someone difficult I will stop and breathe. Having that moment to breathe and understand will allow me to be patient and listen to them. Even understanding that people I love and respect have different lived experiences will help me to appreciate them even more. Being aware of lived experience can spark unexpected relationships that may not have occurred because of so much pre-judgment. This trip has positively altered some of my subconscious ways of thinking, and this has been one of them.