“Experience is the hardest teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward”. Oscar Wilde
Visualize this. It's 1989. Our Master Baker has just turned 19 and recently joined his dad at the bakery. It’s a few days into his career, and they’re busy working a bread dough off on the table. Steven asks “Dad, is the dough ready?”
“No.”
“How do you know when a dough is ready?”
“Experience.”
Steven ponders this answer and is troubled as to what he’s supposed to learn from this. The following day, Steven applies his lesson from the previous day and says to his dad, “Dad, the dough’s ready”.
“It is?”
“Yes, it is.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know.”
The dough is placed in the oven and baked off. When it comes out the oven it looks terrible. Steven’s dad calls him over and says, “Do you see that red colour on the top of the bread?”
“Ja.”
“The dough wasn’t ready.”
“Well, how do you know if it’s ready?”
“Experience, my son.”
At this stage, Steven is beginning to be concerned about his future in the bakery – how is he supposed to learn if he’s not being taught? Two or three days later, Steven’s dad is visited by a longstanding friend of his, who is also in the bakery trade. He’s waiting for Mr B to finish a telephone call, so Steven decides to pick his brain.
“Tell me, how do you know if a dough’s ready?”
“Simple. You take a piece of dough, shape it into a roll and press down on the dough. If it jumps up straight away, it’s not quite ready. If it leaves a slight indentation, it’s ready. You can also cut it with a knife. If it pulls apart quite nicely, then it’s ready. If it doesn’t pull apart then it’s not ready.”
“OK.”
The following day, Steven says to his dad, “The dough’s ready.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know.”
“OK”
They finish working the dough off and bake it. It comes out of the oven and it’s perfect. Steven’s dad calls him over and says, “Well done my son, how did you know the dough was ready?”
“Experience.”
This little vignette is a perfect example of the wonderful dynamic that existed between Steven and his dad. All of life’s lessons knocked into you, never to be forgotten – and now remembered fondly.
“Experience is a truer guide than the words of others.” Leonardo da Vinci
What experiences have left deep impacts in your life, trenches that have forged new paths for you? How is this global pandemic changing us? While I waited in the queue to get into the grocery store this morning, it struck me how awesome and terribly beautiful this thing is that we are experiencing. Our reality has become surreal. We are evolving into better beings; I see it happening around me and it’s overwhelming.
We’re safe at home, we’re interacting with our families like many haven’t in years. We’re relearning the art of being still and present. We’re learning how to be more creative in the kitchen – there’s just something wonderful about conjuring up a meal with what you have available. One positive that will definitely come out of this experience – the family feast has been re-discovered.
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