“30 Days to a More Optimistic You” Positivity Challenge – Day 25. Appreciating Other Cultures

On Day 24 of our 30 Days of Positivity Challenge, we explored the beauty of people who come from different backgrounds.

Today, let’s take this concept a step further and delve into appreciation for other cultures.

Groups and classifications are a funny thing. There’s a lot of talk about how we are all the same, and should not be judged by our differences. There’s also plenty of categorizing and classifying of different people.

Both of these facets of human existence are true. We are all humans just trying to get by and survive here on planet earth. The same in heart, body and mind.

The truth also is that we have originated in different spots on the map. Once, those spots seemed worlds apart. The term “foreigner” was used for someone who had come to your part of the world from elsewhere. “Foreign,” a word also connoted to mean unfamiliar, strange, different.

Now, the planet has been globalized and we’re slowly but surely melting together. You don’t hear the word “foreigner” too often these days because humanity really has come a long way. People seem more “familiar” than foreign to us, because we recognize that we really are alike in the most basic of ways.

If eventually we all become the same, “foreign” will become a totally alien concept. There will be no more of the “old school” attitude of separation. The concept of culture is likely to diminish in importance, unless we do a good job of preserving the beauty and uniqueness that each different line of people came from.

It’s the differences in how our cultures developed, that really bring the flavor and enjoyment to exploring human existence.

Exercise 25: Show Gratitude for Other Cultures

People and all their customs and cultures are surely an amazing thing to behold. Have you traveled much in your life?

Even if you haven’t found the time or inclination to traverse the great planet we call earth with its colorful and diverse citizens, you’ve surely visited a city or two in your lifetime.

Cities are where people of different backgrounds converge. Immigrants bring pieces of their culture along with them as they venture to new cities in search of a better life. Much of what they bring is the “best of” their beautiful home country.

When you think of certain cultures, what beautiful things come to mind for you? How about…

The innovation and fine attention to detail put into Russian nesting dolls and intricately painted Easter eggs carved by hand from wood.

The vibrant colors and delicateness of tulips, hyacinths and daffodils from Holland.

The bold flavors and spicy aromas of  Ethiopian stews – hearty, earthy foods that you scoop up using stretchy, textured flatbread.

The ingenuity and graceful, almost impossibly perfect forms of Chinese architecture.

Warm, thick woolen sweaters, hand knit by stout Peruvian mountain women.

The fiery red locks of a saucy Scottish lass, with a fiery personality to match.

The mystery and wonder of ancient ruins from civilizations long gone – the Egyptian pyramids.

Journal It.

What is your knowledge of different people and cultures? What do you love about their history, heritage, and the beautiful things they created in celebration of life?

Write about art, cuisine, fashion and clothing that you’ve become familiar with thanks to friends whose families hailed from different parts of the world.

What are some of your most beloved bits of your own culture?

To learning more about others – and yourself.

Fran Watson