Are experiences overrated?
Do you really believe in collecting experiences?
April 5th 2024: I was in Porto starting my first Camino walk. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. One of the oldest European centres the core was declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in the late 90’s. One of the city attractions is the Livraria Lello library, more than 100 years old, with its intricate neo-gothic and art nouveau design. It shot to fame as this book store inspired the Hogwarts in Harry Potter, and we saw long queues of travellers from across the world. Well, for once we did see long queues to get into a library!
The library is beautiful - spiral wooden staircase, beautifully lined books - yet a small place with heavy security amid all the bustling crowds. I had signed up to visit it - and it left me with the question - “Are experiences overrated?” Would the same people still line up had JK Rowling not drawn inspiration? JK Rowling has worked hard for many years to earn her badge - and we tend to forget all the hard work put in. For something to become valuable, there is always someone’s hard work ( discreetly or indiscreetly)
How then do we define ‘experiences?” In today’s world, people are willing to give up so much for “experiences” but it always leaves me wondering - how do we define it? Have we earned the experiences? In the world of Instagram, and mobile cameras, every where you look, someone is capturing the moment - almost like they are afraid the moment would go away unnoticed, and be forgotten. Is capturing a moment the same as experiencing the moment?
One of my friends is an author and our Camino guide - I see the rigour and discipline she puts in to create something that could become valuable for her and the reader over time. Her books are best sellers on amazon. Writing a best seller requires intense dedication, and standards of excellence to be set. Her tenacity inspires me to give my best to my work. She was the one who coaxed us into visiting the library, and rightfully so. I thought she had earned this, while I was going to tick the box off. And that’s where we draw the line on experiences too. When you earn something, you value the experience and it probably stays beyond the pics on google photos. When you tick the box, you will be reminded of it when you see the picture on google photos.
In a world inundated by a drive to collect experiences, I have started to feel experiences are overrated. Hard work and earning that experience is underrated. As Eckhart Tolle said : "Life is an adventure, not a package tour."
I say “Earn your experience, before the experience owns you” Failed to render LaTeX expression — no expression found