As I write this, I am halfway to my destination in India. I am again on another adventure where I am sure I will learn something new not just about myself, but the world we live in.
This trip is one of many I have taken in the past few years and as I sit in between airports I am again taken aback by the similarities that the people around the world have with me.
Everyone is on a journey. They are trying to get somewhere.
In several of my conversations with them on previous trips I notice they have the same problems as everyone back in the U.S. – problems in marriages, families, relationships, jobs, economy, government, health, etc.
Again, my conclusion is the same: the people in the world are no different from I. Just as I have problems – they have problems. They want happiness just like everyone else out there. They want to distance themselves from their problems. They want to go where there is joy to found.
Aren’t we all on this journey?
I am not here to convince you that there is a better place than your home. In fact, the truth remains that there is no such place as home. Home is where the heart is.
What I want to get you to understand is that to break the barriers of your opinions about other people – their thinking, cultures and backgrounds – you have to make an effort to leave your home to obtain a better understanding of your barriers of interaction and force yourself to interact with people who you doubt.
One thing everyone must do, if they can, is travel internationally – not to places that are marketed as dangerous – but way outside from the people you normally hang out with, exchange ideas, and formulate opinions so you can position your thoughts to be questioned by others. After all, a great discussion is one that allows free thinking of opinion while listening to other people’s positions.
My travels have provided me interesting perspectives on the opinions others have on the American culture, governmental politics, food and values to name a few. While I don’t agree with everything other people say, it at least allows my mind to think more freely as I am opening myself to other thoughts.
Likewise, opinions that I have about other cultures are shot down based on clarity that I was missing based on discussions with some of my friends locally.
Traveling internationally is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. It changes your way of thinking. Establishing local reasoning against a group of people is not an excuse for not obtaining global reasoning. An opinion or assumption that sits within you will continuously creep inside of you, formulating the root of negative beliefs that will never be dispelled unless you go outside your basis of thinking.
An investigate mind is the best mind one can have. It’s important to be inquisitive about what people from other cultures are thinking to have a broader perspective of the world.
Reading one-sided news articles about a group of people, negative opinions in papers, and the local new channels provides a “surface-view” of the world driven by assumptions and what I call “what-others-think” drivers of influence. This view is created by a variety of factors that the author may or may not be aware of – societal positions, governmental values, and commercialized marketing to name a few.
What the news doesn’t teach you is what your perspective of a particular group of people should be.
The news doesn’t allow you to explore without someone guiding your thoughts and opinions. When you are home listening to the news you are around like-minded people who can easily influence your way of thinking and you can formulate group agreement. To break this, you have to go outside the borders of like-mindedness and create an environment that questions the very thought that makes you think negatively about someone.
So hop on a plane and get out there. Go to local bars in international locations to engage in discussions. Go to local fairs to simply talk end exchange ideas. No one is going to bite you. Be open to other opinions. People in these locations have a right to say what they want just as you have the right to think what you want.
Just shake up your tree and let the leaves fall so new leaves will grow, and create an environment where new branches can be formed to develop new relationships and bonds of reasoning.
Enjoy the trip!