Last night on the Hallmark Movie Channel, I watched “The Locket,” a movie adaptation of the book by Richard Paul Evans. It tells the story of a young man who is going through a difficult time, especially in his love life. While working as a nurse’s aide in a retirement home, he befriends an older woman who lost her true love many years prior. She gives him guidance so that he won’t lose the love of his life. After some unexpected twists and turns, the story comes to a positive ending for the young man. Although some things in his life have changed, he still has the love of his girlfriend.

What I took away from the movie is the importance of sharing experiences with younger people–not that you need to lecture them or that they will even listen to you. However, once you have lived through a certain time in life you have a better perspective on how things work in a particular situation. You can either choose to share what you learned with others or keep it to yourself.

I’m for sharing. In some cases, people won’t take kindly to your advice or comments. But in other cases they will. Sometimes they might even ask you for advice and then you’ll be free to openly share your experiences with them. Personally, I know that my young adult daughter sometimes asks me how I handled some things when I had young children as she now does. She would not have asked me that (or listened to me) just a few years ago.

If no one benefits from our life experiences, then what good are they? Of course, you can often benefit from your own earlier experiences so that you make better decisions as your life moves on. But, if nothing else, write them down so that your children or their children have the opportunity to look back on your wisdom one day.