Your Life: Experiences v. Reality

My brain stopped the words before they came out of my mouth.

I was asked if I was a hunter, and immediately I was about to respond that I was. But then my brain clicked in and reminded me that I used to be a hunter during my childhood, but I haven’t been hunting since I was a teenager (that’s me on the left in the photo above, javalina hunting with a friend).

So the correct answer is no, I’m no longer a hunter. Not because I have anything against hunting (I don’t), but I no longer have a personal interest in hunting. If someone invited me to go hunting now, I would likely decline the invitation, simply because my personal interests have changed over the years.

When the topic came up, I identified with the hunter. I know the experience, and really enjoyed it in the past. But hunting was just one of a multitude of experiences in my life. It would not be accurate to say that I’m currently a hunter. It’s something I understand and have fond memories of, but is no longer any part of my life.

My experience is how many people live their lives: they see themselves today based on false perceptions built from past experiences.

But an experience from the past — whether one-time or an extended time — doesn’t necessarily make us who we are today.

I spent some time living on a ranch in Arizona. I could ride a horse well, and I was very good at roping. Good enough I was encouraged to pursue roping professionally in rodeos. I wore the hat and boots because at that time of my life, I was living as a cowboy. By the time I started the “Rodeo Club” in high school, that was changing. I was studying journalism at the time, and roots to my future was changing who I was becoming.

I still have a great pair of cowboy boots that I occasionally wear. But I’m more “me” in a pair flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt because I’ve become much more accurately the beach guy rather than the cowboy.

That’s who I actually am today.

Because of my experiences, I can be comfortable in a variety of settings: from a pair of shorts at the beach, a pair of jeans at a rodeo, an aloha shirt in Honolulu, slacks and a shirt in a clinical counseling setting, a suit in a boardroom making a presentation, a tuxedo at the symphony, or preaching the Gospel in front of a large audience.

My life experiences have given me “scale” or range, but only some of them play a direct part of who I actually “am” today. Who I am exceeds what I have experienced or what my interests are. It is all about what I believe so much that I actually put those beliefs into consistent action.

Sometimes I don’t always have the opportunities or resources to do all the things that are an accurate reflection of who I am, but I apply myself as fully as I can. Doing so takes me beyond perceptions of the past, to the reality of today. And it’s those things I believe in so much that I live out as fully as possible that make up who I have actually become.

For too many, serving Christ is an experience to them like hunting was to me. It’s something they have done in the past, they have fond memories of, and they enjoyed, but it’s not a real part of their lives right now. Yet, they perceive themselves as being Christians.

Past experiences may, or may not, influence who we become or who we are, but what is ultimately important is the reality of the moment. Not that we once did something, once experienced something, or once liked something.

What is important is who we are today and how we live today.

Based on that, who are you? Do you know? Or are you living life on perceptions of the past?

Scotty