I experience therefore I am

Most job application criteria require experience apart from formal qualifications. I have wondered why this is necessary especially when someone is applying for the job for the first time? Unless a person has a job, it is impossible to get the necessary experience.  
Philosopher Aristotle compared the mind of an infant to a blank clay tablet, "tabula rasa" on which experiences leave their mark. This could be applied to adults as well because experience is the best teacher in life. Growing up is a journey that we have to undertake every day of our lives and this journey will bring ample opportunities to experience the specific way of life. As we journey this life, our life is a blank clay tablet that has to be written as we experience situations and instances in life. It is important for any one of us to go through this journey as it unfolds. There are bad and good experiences as the consequence of learning, however, the goal of this journey of experience must be a good experience. The majority of people experience good things in life and this is crucial for our growth and for our happiness. 
The experience leads to knowledge and knowledge and not vice versa. Knowledge from the experience helps us to perform and conduct ourselves well. For instance, unless one has experience of heat, one will fail to recognize the fire. Experience teaches us lessons in life; lessons to cope with life and persevere in endeavors. Our mind craves to have positive experiences and rightly so we will have ample opportunities to fulfill this craving. Despite the negative experiences we can choose to embrace only positive experiences because it is in positive experiences we find our happiness. 3
We could experience pain in the form of feelings in the mind. This painful experience will make us resilient towards the specific situation and help us to cope with it. On the other hand, joyful experiences will propel us to strive to stay in that experience and also help us to constantly seek positive experiences in life. This is important for our existence and a form of the coping mechanism of life without which we will find ourselves delusional or psychotic. Experience conditions our behavior in life. For instance, a criminal commits a crime due to his past experiences of life and most criminals have a negative experience in their early life. 
We experience there we exist and if not for the experience we would be fish out of water. This is one of the important reasons why employers look for experience from the candidates of job. Basically, employers are seeking the knowledge they gained from the experience at the job. It is crucial that we gain as much experience as possible in our everyday lives. Let us strive to experience so that we can cope with life and learn traits of life. 

Tribute to a Cheerful Nun

Words are not enough to express gratitude to Sister Admirabilis Browne who has passed on to her heavenly abode. Sister Admi has left an ineradicable mark in the hearts of so many Guyanese. Likewise, I had the honour of experiencing her pleasant demeanour. We have been touched by sister in exceptional ways. Sister was born in 1924. She went to Sacred Heart School and St. Joseph’s School in Georgetown. Early education in these schools emulated her religious vocation to the Sisters of Mercy. After taking a job for few years, she entered Convent of the Sisters of Mercy in 1947 in Dallas, Pennsylvania.  She pursued an MA in Mathematics from Fordham University. Her contribution towards education and hospital has been outstanding. She was the administrator at Mercy Hospital in Georgetown for several years.   

Sister celebrating her 70th anniversary recalled a simple yet profound experience in Mercy Hospital as a young sister. She was walking down the corridor when a young boy ran up to her called her, “Auntie Jesus, Auntie Jesus.” The boy has been taught to address a woman as Auntie and the boy noticed the cross on sister, hence the boy called her, ‘Auntie Jesus’. This encounter with the boy reminded sister to be like Jesus. Encounters as this will make us truly disciples of Jesus. Through this encounter, Sister encourages us to be close to Jesus even if it seems like He is not close to us, to know that God is doing His own thing to strengthen us. Therefore, do not be discouraged or worry when things are not going right.

 Her cheerfulness and love engulfed with a contagious smile is the hallmark of her life. Anyone who has met sister will never leave without being refreshed with a charming smile. She loved everyone in her own way since she believed in the love of God and love of people. She preached and practised her own saying ‘seeing happiness in others made you happy.’ This charming quality comes from her relationship with God for she articulates, ‘listen to the inner voice of yourself where God speaks.’ Sister encourages us to love Jesus not merely in a distant way but focus on loving those around us and this will have an amazing impact on

us. Her approach towards the young people was to meet them from where they are, although sister belonged to the ‘typewriter’ era. Therefore, she is loved and missed by many young people. I personally admired her for her attentive ear towards my preaching in the Church even though she had wealth of knowledge and spirituality. She has inspired me to remain humble because in humility we praise God. As we celebrate her life in gratitude, we imbibe the qualities of cheerfulness, love, humility and acceptance of a changing world. I conclude with her own motto, “All for Jesus through Mary.”