Learning as a Lifetime Experience - Essay Example

Personal Viewpoint Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 01.03 Learning can be defined as away through which people are able to grasp ideas and internalize them into their daily life (Griffin, 16). It does not occur at an instance but seems to be a continuous process. This has led to the saying that “Learning is a lifetime experience”. Learning experiences present themselves to people in everyday activities through the things they engage in. We encounter different situations in the course of our daily chores helping us learn without our realization. Once one reflects on the occurrences in his/her past life, one can be able to analyze the learning experiences in his life, and appreciate those moments. Throughout my life, I continue to encounter numerous experiences, which significantly affect my perception and understanding of the occurrences in life. Through these experiences I have learnt numerous things which have enriched my life immensely. Though some occurred subconsciously, others were instigated discussions held between myself and friends. While discussing various lifetime experiences with my friends, something I had always ignored occurred. My friend informed me of the inherent discrepancies present between environments where people grow up. The friend informed me of how he grew in a Muslim dominated society, and the difficult experiences he underwent as a Christian. With a majority of the people being Muslims, the childhood friends failed to understand the faith professed by my friend. The discrepancies in the fundamental teachings of the faiths caused numerous difficulties between the children professing different faiths. The children viewed each other as enemies creating immense tension and difficulty in creating friendships among children professing different faiths. After growing up, my friend’s understanding of Islamic faith enabled him to appreciate individuals professing the faith. My friend explained the various elements of the Islamic faith which caused the perception change. The discovery that a majority of the doctrines contained in the religions remain common across the religions was surprising. Through the explanation offered, I also gained an immense understanding of the Islamic religion. Although numerous accusations continue regarding the association of Islamic faith with terrorism, stereotyping could be explained as the causing element for these accusations. The fact that there are a quite many terrorists associated with Islamic faith should not be a benchmark for regarding all Muslims, terrorists. Stereotypical thinking with limited understanding of Islamic faith leads to fallacious conclusions regarding the religion. As a child, I had also held this populist believe as true. My understanding of the Islamic religious doctrines displayed the religion as modeling terrorist. Though a populist opinion, the believe fails miserably to present any factual argument supporting its contents. The belief, therefore, becomes a stereotypical populist opinion for disregarding individuals professing Islamic faith. Misinformation and misunderstanding contributed immensely to the thoughts of Muslims being terrorists. I realized there exists immense similarities between the religions, yet people tend to discriminate those professing different faiths. Acceptance of other people’s differences could also enable them to accept you into their society. It remains critically essential for individuals to accept that differences occur naturally between societies. The element of discrimination, however, does not occur from the personality aspect. The discrimination fails to analyze the individuals for whom they are, however, discrimination occurs based on how people perceive others. The doctrines initiated in children during the early life contain significant influence in the people’s lives at later stages. Following the discussion with my friend, I realized how the environment changes people’s perceptions, significantly assisting individuals in breaking away from cultural bondage. The cultures people grow from posses surmountable impacts into the perceptions concerning different elements of life. Growing up in a majorly Christian society, I also held similar perceptions as my friend concerning Muslims. I could barely bring myself to interact with Muslims, owing to the cultural beliefs I possessed. Nowadays, however, I have an almost equal number of Muslim friends as Christians. The discussion instigated numerous thought for me regarding the childhood doctrines brought by cultural practices. I had not known that my friend could have such helpful information regarding something that continues to elude me thoroughly. Owing to the fear of upsetting people, I could hardly ask, any of my Muslim friends, questions regarding their religion. I thought informing them of my early perceptions of their religion would immensely upset them. Though I always wanted to know the truth behind the allegations, I continued to wonder as I could not find an informative individual to enlighten me. Throughout the years, I have lived in darkness lacking understanding concerning the Islamic doctrines, though I desired to understand them. The discussion held between me and the friend essentially provided me with the understanding I had much desired, for long. As we sat discussing I felt extremely comfortable making enquiries from my friend regarding the Islamic faith as he professed Christianity. The various questions I asked him never appeared to instill emotional infringement into his believes. Having grown in an Islamic society, I believed he could provide me with essential information to assist me understand Islam in depth. Prior to the discussion I had not known the background of my friend. I felt absolutely comfortable holding the discussion with him because of two major reasons. First, we possessed the same faith and would not feel upset concerning the sentiments shared during the discussion. We both understood that these were opinions existing among numerous, different religious groups. Second, as a friend, sharing personal views with him would be an extremely easy task. The discussion profoundly increased my understanding of the Islamic doctrines, providing significant understanding of the religion. Following the discussion I realized that the majority of the terrorists associated with Islam do not practice the religious doctrines. While the people might be professing the Islamic faith, they remain passive members of the religion. The people involved in the criminal acts only profess the faith without practicing. Practicing of the Islamic faith does not include participation in criminal activities. Active practice of religion could essentially provide people with proper background aiming at living free from criminal activities. Though my friend possesses surmountable knowledge of the Islamic religion, he has never practiced the religion during his lifetime. The knowledge possessed was acquired unconditionally through childhood interaction with people professing Islamic religion. These individuals played an influential role in providing him with fundamental doctrines of the Islamic religion. My knowledge acquisition, however, remains procedural as the learning experience occurred through discussion with a knowledgeable person. When I learnt that my friend understood Islamic doctrines profoundly, I could not relent asking questions seeking to increase my knowledge. The discussion enabled me to understand that I was not the only person who shared the sentiment of terrorists being Muslims, as a child. The discussion provided my with an analytical approach of various fundamental doctrines contained in different religions. I learnt of the inherent similarities in doctrines of Christianity and Islam. The discussion provided me with immense knowledge of the similarities in the doctrines shared between the religions. I also realized that a majority of people fail to understand the essential; contents for different religions. This limited understanding contributes immensely to the development of stereotype between members of different religions. Knowledge could be gained from the unexpected sources in life. While people might appear not possessing knowledge regarding certain elements, someone might be surprised at the surmountable knowledge possessed by these individuals. Through the discussion I had with my friend, I managed to gain resourceful information concerning Islamic doctrines. Though might not be a Muslim, his childhood background provided him with essential knowledge to inform others about the religious doctrines of Islam. I never anticipated gaining any significant knowledge from individuals who do not practice the religion. On this day, however, I learnt crucial information from my friend about the Islamic religion. References Griffin, Susan. A chorus of stones:the private life of war. New York: Anchor Books, 1993. Read More