(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.)

 

This Distinction became surprisingly clear at a recent cooking class. This was a Cooking Basics class at a local community college (the class is known unofficially as ‘Knife 101: How to slice everything but yourself!’).

We were given recipes, ingredients, and instructions. We could, of course, read the materials and listen to the instructors, but we still wouldn’t know about the finished product. We would understand the components and processes only at an intellectual level.

Real knowing comes at the deeper level of experiencing. For instance, cooking and stirring onions, seeing and smelling them transform from light-colored raw eye-watering fresh ‘things’ into the amazing dark essence of French Onion Soup has to be experienced to be fully learned. For one thing it’s hot standing next to that stove and it takes a long time for the cooking transformation to occur.

As a customer in a restaurant ordering this dish I had never appreciated the effort and skill involved in its preparation. I may have understood, but not really known.

Life is like that. You can never really know without experiencing.

 

Coaching Point: What are you ready to experience?

 

Copyright 2013 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.