Why we need life experiences to grow.
Paulo Coelho quotes “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.”
So true indeed!
I still get a good laugh when we talk about May Li’s volunteering experience.
She is an 11 year old ‘bookworm’ who loves theories of aliens and the universe.
She could sit in a corner for hours, digesting books after books about outer space and alien travels.
While on her summer break here, I managed to lure her away to spend a day as a volunteer at a refugee school in the middle of Kuala Lumpur.
For May Li, it would be her first time volunteering.
Little Miss Bookworm was anxious naturally and asked a lot of questions.
How will we find the school? What will we do? How big is the school? Where do they come from? Where do the refugees live? Do they have exams too? Do they speak English?
And her questions continued the whole journey to our destination.
We found the school after several wrong turns.
And after a quick brief, we started with scrapping and cleaning the walls.
2 hours later with 4 walls ready for new paint, we moved to the next class room.
As we were about to start, someone asked if we could help out with another task.
May Li volunteered and had a choice to either clean a storeroom or paint some window frames.
She peeped into the storeroom and saw that it was dark and dusty.
She walked over to the window and the afternoon sun was shining.
Of course, she picked to do the windows and went off to grab a paintbrush and some paint.
An hour later, I decided to check in on her.
I found May Li still at the first window.
Looking like a melted ice cream. Sweating away.
Sweat was dripping off her chin.
Her forehead and cheeks smeared with paint.
Her tee-shirt was soaked through.
I noticed her face was all red especially her nose. Her arms appeared red too.
Oh my goodness!!
She looked like a red chili standing in the afternoon sun!
(Note: Never underestimate the power of our Malaysian sun. Especially if you have delicate English rose skin)
Of course, she did not apply sunscreen. Who would thought of it.
I approached and asked if she was alright.
May Li said ‘Aunty Ching, May I do the storeroom instead?’
I had to laugh while watching her wipe the sweat off her forehead with more paint.
Unfortunately, someone cleared the storeroom and she had to finish the windows.
I grabbed a paintbrush and helped.
We finished 2 hours later with puddles of sweat on the floor.
We both looked like 2 wilted chilies at the end of the day.
The next day was painful for us. My skin started peeling.
She was blistering almost from head to toe.
I laughed remembering our meltdown.
I asked May Li if she would do it again.
“Yes of course! I had fun. I got to learn how to paint, I get to see the inside of a school. I now know what the children do in school. And I got to take the train.
But next time, I will choose the storeroom.” she said.
It was a new experience for her.
Our new experiences are precious.
They bring plenty of new discoveries.
They create an opportunity for you to explore new skills and often lead you to your hidden talents.
You get proof and evidence of your assumptions.
By doing and making decisions in your experience, you authenticate your thoughts.
It is like rewiring your brain system.
You build on a new understanding of how things really work.
Life experiences can either be pleasant or painful.
For some, they might even call it a personal revelation!
And it can be as simple as changing a small routine in your life.
For example, taking the train to work instead of driving.
Or starting a daily or weekly journal for reflection.
Meanwhile for May Li, the bright windows brought blisters and pain but her volunteering experience gave her new knowledge about refugee schools and taught her life skills.
Besides, she now carries a small tube of sunscreen in her bag. Just in case…
