People seem to excel better when they live and work together. 10 people can achieve more if they work as a group than if they work independently. In one way, a culture is a certain arrangement of rules and patterns through which individuals can live and thrive together. However, people seem to believe that cultures cannot be chosen.
Culture: must we only stick to one?
It is true that everyone grows up in one culture or the other. And that culture has shaped their personality, behavior, and lifestyle in many ways, whether they are aware of it or not. However, it is not necessary that you always have to identify with that specific culture for the rest of your life.
The culture you grew up in helped you become who you are now. Once you decide what type of person you want to be in the future, you can choose to live in a culture that supports this decision. And the “culture” does not only need to refer to nations or religions.
Suppose you grew up in a house with a family full of doctors. Your whole life has been a journey toward becoming a doctor. One day, you discover that this is not what makes you happy. Instead, you want to live on a farm and make a living growing plants. Continuing your medical studies and current way of life is not an intelligent decision. What you may want is to “change” the culture you live in.
Asking the appropriate questions
Every culture has something to offer. Depending on the path you have chosen in life, a certain type of culture may be suitable for you. The important question here is: “What is that you want to do with your life?”. Once you know that, you see if the culture you currently live in can support this path.
If you see that your current way of life cannot help you reach your goals, then you can make the appropriate changes. In other words, you ask, “What conditions are most suitable for my longing to become true?”. You then arrange your life intelligently around that. There really is no right or wrong choice here. You see and follow what works best for you.
A matter of sense
Once you make this decision along with the appropriate changes, you will, in one way or another, belong to a certain culture. It is not necessary that you identify with it; you can just use it for your growth. That is the whole idea of “Life Is All Around”. There is no morality involved in the recommended choices. You only see what is best for your growth and choose accordingly.
If, on the other hand, you want to please the people around you, then you do what they want and do not need to choose a culture. Basically, you don’t make the changes you want.
In short, it is all a matter of priorities. What do you value most? Your own or others’ opinions?
One thing appears to be certain about cultures, though. When you live in an environment where you can say “yes” to everything without the fear of being exploited, then the beauty of cultures really comes forward. That would be the ideal society to live in. Everyone can work to make this happen for themselves.
Take away:
- Once you decide what type of person you want to be in the future, you can choose to live in a culture that supports this decision
- You can ask: “What conditions or culture are most suitable for my longings to become true?”
- When you live in an environment where you can say “yes” to everything without the fear of being exploited, then the beauty of cultures relay comes forward.
