Unlived Experiences
Most modern expertise comes from unlived experiences: scholarship and such.
vis-a-vis "Lived experiences"
"Lived experiences" is a retronym, like snail mail or analog watch. That faculty invented—and use—the term is a self-own. It tacitly acknowledges that chalk & talk, reading books & blogs, attending conferences and meetings aren't real experiences. Since experience is the root of our word "expert", your profs are instead examiners: they "draw out or forth" as the etymology says. They research and investigate. Now, you can still learn from examiners. There are still roles for them. Yet, there is one role you'll have to fill yourselves. Above all, become an expert in yourself. - “Commencing amid Crisis” (discussed near end), among
see originally published as (LinkedIn Newsletter)
Knowing (the name of) Something
There’s a big difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.
Unlived Lives
The concept of "unlived lives" comes from James Hillman and Carl Jung's work - they're the paths we might have taken, the potentials within us that haven't been actualized, the versions of ourselves we sense but haven't manifested. They're not necessarily regrets or failures, but rather the multiplicity of valid lives we carry within us. Some stay unlived (the books unwritten, the paths not taken), while others surprisingly emerge later in life.
Identifying unlived lives
Q: Where can we find signs of unlived lives?
In drafts folders, unfinished manuscripts, unsent applications, unexecuted business plans….(that likely point to latent talents, flouted values, ignored ways of being)
Examining unlived lives
The unlived life isn't worth examining.
(rejoinder to Socrates’ “The unexamined life is not worth living.”)
Q: (how) could I fancy myself a #1LB (One Line Bio)
Inheriting unlived lives
"The greatest tragedy of the family is the unlived lives of the parents.” - Carl Jung
Writing an obituary for one’s parents (either before or after death) can help find signs of unlived lives. This was one of my motivation in my 2020 project Obit DIY | Tell Your Story, before You're History
(See for intro)