We have different cultures but the same heart

Throughout the different periods of our history we have been forging diverse cultures, languages, customs and values throughout the world. Faced with this reality, it seems inevitable to ask ourselves a question: why does difference often scare us? Yeah Cultural diversity gives us learning, new points of view and emotional richness, How can we reconcile ourselves with the unknown?

“Knowing new ways of relating can bring a lot of emotional richness to our lives.”

Why does the unknown scare us?

What we don’t know makes us afraid and when faced with this emotion, rejection can arise. and prejudices. Much of what we do not know makes us insecure and locks us in our inner world. Thinking about different people, different customs and new ways of doing things can lead us to want to overprotect what we feel is our own. We can even consider that what is our own is being threatened.

When we feel fear, we can have 3 different reactions: flight, attack or paralysis. The three ways of behaving are defense strategies against what scares us. Therefore, The natural response to fear is protection. And how do we protect ourselves from what is different? Sometimes, through rejection and discrimination. So, we can find people who close their hearts to what is different for fear of being attacked or invaded.

We prefer the known area

In the comfort zone or known area are those procedures or situations that we have somehow mastered and that are far from challenging our capabilities. For this reason, moving in this area does not usually generate much tension. What is unknown and can scare us is outside this zone. One of the fears that appear when we consider leaving our comfort zone is the feeling that the new invalidates the usual.

Read Also: Existential depression: very common in people with high intelligence

When in reality, it can be just the opposite, new learning enriches and adds knowledge instead of subtracting. Learn new ways of relating, to cook, to teach, to live, regardless of where they come from, They can bring great emotional richness to our lives.

Accepting diversity opens the heart

Different languages, different cultures, open up the possibility of immense learning towards things that we would not have even imagined knowing. Can you imagine discovering that you are not so different from others? Can you imagine finding out that your DNA is made up of many disparate sources? This is what happened to the kids who let their DNA be analyzed. They found that in reality, they were not as different from others as they had thought, they had many more things in common than they imagined.

“Our origins are not that different, because at our core, we are just a human being trying to connect with another human being.”

Cultural diversity enriches us

Differences therefore allow us to give the best of ourselves. They lead us to discover unimaginable aspects of our being, differences with other people allow us, for example:

Know new ways of approaching a situation, expanding the points of view from which we consider it and giving space to new ways of thinking, even feeling.Recognize that each person has their story. Each person and each culture has their story to tell, and it is important to respect and listen to them before jumping into judgment.Give space to travel and discover the wonders of the world, to discover new landscapes and people who give us new ideas and more perspective on situations.Remember that we are not alone, there are more people who accompany us in this world. This allows us to think that our culture is the only valid one, and the only one worth exploring.Learn that all cultures can contribute something to us, even if it has nothing to do with us.

Read Also: The three griefs of adolescence: what your children say goodbye to at that stage

Different cultures the same heart

In the end, no matter how many differences separate us, we all have the same heart that beats day by day and minute by minute. If we begin to see what unites us and not what separates us, we will discover that the other gives us a lot of peace and serenity even with their differences. Our origins are not that different, because at our core, we are just a human being trying to connect with another human being, how big and how simple at the same time.

Life goes much beyond us. Sensitivity and love unite us and make us unique as human beings. Reconcile with people of cultural origin different from ours allows us to realize that We have the opportunity to grow emotionally through other people and customs.