My Worldview Toward Other Cultures

  

My Worldview Toward Other Cultures

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Our planet is expanding in size, wealth, and diversity. Understanding diverse cultures paves the road to a new future where we can all work together rather than merely respecting our differences (BEIS, 2021). To do this, everyone must first learn to respect and comprehend all cultures by deeply comprehending their own culture, surroundings, and identities. Since our understanding of the world and ourselves, as well as many other aspects of life, such as social interactions and our own and others' well-being, are all influenced by how we perceive the world and ourselves, it is important to be aware of our own culture because doing so can help us avoid imposing our beliefs on others. In this essay, I'll go over how my understanding of who I am as a person and my environment has influenced how I view other cultures.

Parents

As we interact with various individuals and experience a variety of life events and other cultures, our perspective on the world expands and solidifies through time. While some influences have an indirect impact on how we see the world, others do so directly. I was born and raised in a low-income household in the little village of Sarpang, Bhutan, where there was a vast variety of people from other cultures, attitudes, and beliefs. I was exposed to many cultures, customs, and practices, which made it easier for me to understand those around me and helped me form worldviews that were different from those of the other youngsters in my area. My parents educated me to respect everyone I met and to see both the positive and unpleasant aspects of life. I was exposed to and encountered discrimination and distinction in our local society at a young age. From childhood to maturity, we are aware that our parents have a significant impact on whom we become (Campbell, 2019). Even though there was some racial, religious, and cultural discrimination in our society, my parents taught me to respect everyone because they knew how important it was to respect the young and old and to love and respect one another. They constantly want the best for us so that, as we mature, we develop into decent people.

Teachers

Every difficult subject we address has a cultural perspective, highlighting the difference between culture and worldview (Christie, 2021). My school teachers built the foundation for my perspective and my understanding of various cultures. My teachers taught me how working cross-culturally enables us to see the strengths and faults of other cultures because I was raised in a border town with India. It not only taught me to appreciate other people's cultures, but it also gave me the chance to mix with individuals who share my worldview. By addressing my questions and imparting life's values and ideals to me, they have also taught me to have favorable opinions on and respect for people from all over the world. We start looking to them for advice on a variety of school-related matters, and they end up becoming the prophets and priests of our new worldview. The perspective we enter the world with is determined by what our educators tell us, again depending on how healthy and strong our relationships are with our parents and relatives (Campbell, 2019). I now treat my many friends in India and all across the world as my brothers.

Religions and Communities

The major factor influencing our development is culture. Religious ideas may also be cultural, and by participating in a variety of religious and cultural activities, I was able to develop a heart-centered spirituality. I think it has truly influenced me because I was taught to be impartial toward everyone, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Because it is ultimately loved by individuals that will get us to heaven, my religion has taught me to respect other religions with a deeper sense of reason. My vision of the world improved as a result of the values used to dispel myths about other religions. I eventually made close friends with people who didn't share my religious beliefs and had other ideals. I was able to have empathy, solidarity, and respect for diversity as a result of mingling with them because my ideals, attitudes, and behaviors were entirely altered. I never learned to distinguish between people since I learned about a sense of connection and belonging when I was with them. I gradually came to see that religion is artificial and that politicians exploit it as a tool to further their interests. I discovered that I should respect human values above all other factors that divide us.

My role in the world at present

My life's encounters with other people have helped me to develop an understanding of the term "global." When I started high school, I can vividly recall my instructors talking about the "global community," "we are all the same," and "we are one family on the globe." As a result of this encounter, I became a different thinker. The World Literary Forum for Peace and Human Rights is a non-profit organization that I currently lead. Its motto is "One World, One People," and I work to bring people from all over the world together to promote peace and understand the importance of becoming global citizens regardless of caste, creed, religion, custom, tradition, race, or other differences. It is registered with the SDGs and has about 13.6k members (UN DESA). It operates entirely voluntarily and receives no outside funding. Creating a positive global community on this small globe through awareness, discourse, and writing makes me feel proud today. On November 17, 2022, UNESCO-APCEIU, Seoul, Korea, will present me with the "Global Citizen Award" in recognition of the effort I made to develop global citizens through various awareness and training programs locally, nationally, and internationally.

Conclusion

The way I was brought up and the lessons I learned in school are huge factors in who I am today. My parents, teachers, friends, communities, places of worship, and other support systems deserve all the credit. Because I should be imparting the same lessons to both my students in school and my children at home, my role should never cease. It all depends on how we interpret and apply the word "global." Doomsday wouldn't be too far away from us if we were unaware of the future. To make our tiny neighbourhood a better and more secure place to live with a sense of belonging and interconnectedness, we need to think globally as citizens of the world.

 

References

BEIS. (2021). The Importance of Understanding Different Cultures. https://beistravel.com/blogs/news/the-importance-of-understanding-different-cultures

Campbell, W. (2019). What Influences How We Form Our Worldview? https://medium.com/@will.campbell/what-influences-how-we-form-our-worldview-c612d0297a9f

Christie, A. (2021). How Culture Impacts Your Worldview. https://sosresponds.org/blog/how-culture-impacts-your-worldview/