The world is connecting through the internet and people are finding new places around the globe to call home. So when we do interact with people from differing backgrounds, it’s imperative that we do so with an open-mind. We won’t know what we’re missing out on if we never push ourselves to experience and learn about other lifestyles.
By keeping an open-mind when we meet others -from our own and other countries- it allows for a learning experience that will challenge our beliefs. This then helps us, and those we interact with, grow. If we have a closed mind when we meet someone new, we aren’t allowing their reality or truth to be heard.
As humans we’re susceptible to judging each other. But when we judge cultures and countries there’s a tendency to place our culture above theirs. Since all we know is our way of life, we compare our everyday life to theirs and can only see the discrepancy in what we both consider “normal”. Yet normal is a relative term, so nothing can truly be defined as normal. Everyone has opportunities and experiences in life that differ from our own, but that doesn’t make what we -or they- do any less meaningful or important. If anything, it opens our eyes to all that there is to experience in life.