In this life, the only thing that cannot be bought with money is experience

We gain knowledge and experience from good or bad experiences in life. We call these experiences and gains experience. Regarding experience, a child's perspective on the father figure in his/her stage of life actually tells a lot:

They asked a seven-year-old child: "What kind of person is your father?" When the child reached the age of 15, he was asked again, "What kind of a person is your father?" At this age, when he had grown a little older, he answered, "My father knows some things". When he was 15 years old, he started to think that his father, whom he had previously thought to know everything, only knew some things. The father is the same father, but as the child grows up, his view of his father undoubtedly changes. When the same boy becomes a fully grown man, he is 25 years old, he is asked again, what kind of a person is your father? "My father doesn't know anything," is his short answer. When the boy is 35 years old, they ask him again, what is your father like? "My father knows some things," he says, giving an answer similar to the one he gave at the age of 15. When the boy in our story reaches the age of 50, the same question is asked to him again: "What kind of a person is your father?" The boy, whose age is rapidly advancing into old age, says, "My father knows everything". He turns 60 and they ask him again: "What is your father like?" In reply; "Oh! If my father were alive, I would have consulted him on everything!" he says. 

In fact, the main element that this anecdote tells us is directly related to what is called experience. As the child gains experience, it is only much later that he realises and appreciates how valuable and meaningful the experience of his father, who is one step ahead of him in life, is. Because before that, he has not gained enough experience in life to know what experience is. At a time when the excitement is at its peak, every child realises and realises how wrong it is to see what the father wants to do as meaningless and sometimes even to oppose the father with harsh discourses as he grows up.

Because life is a set of knowledge gained through experience. With this knowledge, it is to continue on the road by experiencing what should be done in a straightforward way. I would like to quote a famous saying of John Locke (English philosopher, the father of the philosophy of democracy) on this subject: "No man's knowledge can go beyond his experience!" This is indeed the case. Imam Ghazali also says the following about learning from experience: "Whoever learns from experience, whoever matures from experience, is called wise, and whoever does not understand anything from experience is called ignorant or foolish!" Ibn Sina also said, "Experience is superior to knowledge." Benjamin Franklin also underlines the experiences when he says, "Experience is the most advanced of schools, in that school, even fools learn something."

There have been those who made comparisons between being knowledgeable and being experienced. However, for human beings, experience and knowledge are things that complement each other and cannot be separated from each other. It is not enough just to be knowledgeable. If a person is knowledgeable but inexperienced, the probability of making a mistake is high. Continuing on the road with the principle of "he who lives knows" means to step on the ground more firmly. All the experiences gained from the experiences gained on the road of life are a treasure for human beings. Today's new generation of young people can access information much more easily than in the past. They can read a lot. Accordingly, it is normal for them to be very knowledgeable. But what is called experience is not something that can be easily obtained without living and spending years. They say that one misfortune is better than a thousand advices. Advise someone as much as you want, they won't listen. Just like a child. A child can really realise the warmth of the stove only when his hand is burnt. Until that moment, no matter how much you tell him not to approach the stove, you will get burnt, he will not listen. Such is the nature of man. 

In addition to its benefits, experience can sometimes cause nightmares. It can cause an ego caused by too much experience. With the ego and the self-confidence that arises due to this, it may cause the person to see the upcoming dangers and risks smaller than they are and not to take the necessary precautions. Those who say, "We have been on those roads a lot," will only realise when a thorn pricks their foot. Because a person who is experienced over time may condemn himself to the comfort zone of the experience he has gained over time. The comfort and lightness of being able to predict everything in advance may have enveloped the whole self of that person. 

In today's world, the big picture is changing rapidly. Most importantly, technology continues to change our lives at an unimaginable speed. The movement is very high. But if you are swimming in the comfortable waters of experience, you may still not be able to escape the tsunami. While you say that you can tell the arrival of a tsunami by sniffing the air, a 16-year-old teenager may be aware of an approaching tsunami by surfing the Internet. While you are taking the necessary precautions for your life, you may be caught in a tsunami with your grey hair when you least expect it. Therefore, as long as experience and knowledge do not go hand in hand, we can make mistakes, no matter how old we are.

We always want to hear the same things in career stories. That is, if you do this and that, you will be successful, if you don't do this and that, you will fail. But life story is not as straightforward and calculable as maths or science. The equation can only be valid for one question in one's life line, where one is at that moment. But it is not possible to foresee every possibility. That is why we cannot say "For everyone, experience is a threat, an opportunity or both"! Life stories are not written with numbers, formulae, acceptance and beliefs. We ourselves have to be the main determinant of the course of the written life story. 

When people leave the world, their hands are always open and it is as if they want to say: Nothing is under my control, the only thing I can take with me are my memories and the only thing I can leave behind are my experiences. I believe that individuals and societies that can benefit from experiences, which is the most valuable thing left behind by a person, take lessons, progress, and become more civilised individuals and societies.

With respectful love