I am always fascinated when a new word comes into my life. I am a word hunter. I look for new words to help me grow and express myself. Sometimes “old” words show up in a different context to create a much-enhanced value and meaning for them. My hunt for words come into focus under many situations, Conversations with strangers or friends, a discussion with others, a divine church service, a sentence in a book or a news piece on the radio or TV are just a few such resources for finding new words.
I am prompted to write this piece because I heard a word new to me, experiential. The context of the word when I heard it was describing what a divine church service was designed to be for the listener. Some may think a service is informational. A place and an opportunity to gain valued information. That’s true for any conversation where one learns truthful information of value. The transfer of truthful and useful information has value for the listeners is informational, giving them new understanding to help in making future decisions.
ex·pe·ri·en·tial
adjective
involving or based on experience and observation.
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory.
“the experiential learning associated with employment”
Experiential opens a very different perspective. It provides in a powerful way for the listener to have a deeper appreciation of the subject matter.
As I pondered how to explain this notion of experiential learning, I thought of my son Randy’s approach to creating his restaurants. He encased a philosophy for his restaurants in these three words: Quality, Innovation & Education. His purpose was to create an experiential dining event for his customers. The combination of those three words made dining at Sushi Confidential restaurants so successfully experiential that it drew and sustained a loyal following of clients.
Positive experiential venues are blessings in our life, whether they be in every possible location in our life: school, work, personal study, church or just life as it happens for us.
This new word in my vocabulary opens new visions. I can see that life provides so many moments that are truly experiential. I relish experiences that are turning points in my life.
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Turning Point
The word experiential was new to me and offers a new perspective, the blessings of which are still unfolding. It does, however, pique my awareness of words more keenly than before. Recently I heard a phrase in a service: “we need to fine tune ourselves to hear and embrace the will of God if we are to gain from the service God’s intention and will for us.” That too is a turning point for me that gives me greater focus in my preparations for going to church that will make each service more experiential.