This is a skill definitely worth developing – being able to respect and adapt to various cultures around you.
Mike’s Blog 154
Thought of this topic as I was walking around a kid’s rainforest park with dinosaurs eating each other. Makes me think of humans and the reptile brain that we still have programmed deep in our mind.
The threat of another specials, another group of people trying to seize our food, our land, our way of life. To horde what we have and protect others from stealing that stash.
Why are we so often quick to say someone of a different race, color, belief, country, background, etc is against us? Or has that stereotype that we saw in a movie?
Because that is the easy way out. Grouping people and classifying them saves time from trying to have to spend time to learn about them as an individual. It is pretty insane when you think only four or five hundred years ago there were such huge differences in the way we lived and grew up.
But I think humans around the world live pretty much the same today.
And isn’t that amazing?
But of course, we have our cultures, our ways of thinking. And sure, we want to preserve those ways, but we also shouldn’t become a protectionist and close out other’s ways of thinking and living.
The best way to deal with that, in my opinion, is to travel outside of your home country. So many people still are not experiencing different cultures and ways of life. They are relying on the TV / media / news – which sucks and has their own motivations for making you think and believe what they want you to.
I was lucky enough to travel to Italy in high school with a small group from my class. It was such an eye opener – I got laughed at like crazy in the Italian airport with my saggy FUBU jeans and bright orange Nike sneakers and Yankees baseball jersey. Lol. Yes, I wore stuff like that.
But seeing such a different way of life, of thinking. That perspective changed me and has motivated me to continue to learn other’s points of views.
This s something even after 10 years in China I am still a beginner at. I really encourage anyone who has that chance to travel outside of their home element to do so. It will open your mind beyond your imagination, and going back home will never be the same.
And it would get rid of the much needed ignorance of the “us vs them” mentality that sadly still exists between humans to this day.