The laboratory of our lives

It's nothing short of astonishing the amount we learn between the time we're born and the time we die. Of course, most of this learning occurs not in the classroom, but in the laboratory of our lives.

We don't know what we don't know, when we're young. At that time in our lives, we are cakes baking in the oven. Like cakes, our learning can't be rushed; it requires time, patience, and heat.

We can look back on our lives and identify key learning moments: a book that was read, a lost friendship, a new job, a careless comment, a romantic misstep. All these events blend into one continuum and only become clear in hindsight.

This may explain why we give advice when we're older, primarily to people who are younger, people who cannot even hear the advice because it's spoken in a different language. A language they will learn over time; the language of experience cut with failure and triumph.