I've been watching the comments section here at my blog and wish to thank you all for participating. Great insights and sharing. This is a two way street. Let me know your thoughts.
Be the first to say hello is a phrase given to me by an exceptional woman I met while in my college days. She held a secretarial job yet was always willing to state her position and go against the stream of conversation and remain true to herself.
As I was growing up in Sydney Australia it was fashionable to put down foreigners, particularly Asians. Their culture was so very different, their cooking, language etc. Within groups the hatred of others was palpable. One could feel the tension in the air. How did they feel? They are so tiny and we are giants.
Have you got the courage to be true to yourself and be the first to say hello and open the door? A smile will often suffice, will break the tension. I'm tall and have to be extra welcoming as I tower over most people.
Fortunately for me, I had the ability to travel around the world with a backpack for 18 months. As you can imagine, I learnt a lot about people. The best education I ever went through. One thing I noticed was universal, no matter what country, what culture, what religion, people are basically the same. They want the best for their families and want the world to be a better place for their children than they had as a child. Humans will migrate, do anything, work hard, go against their parents wished, to make a better place for their kids.
Can we as other humans help them and say hello first. Break the ice so to speak? I found that not knowing their language is not sufficient excuse. Their silence or non attention to you, is expression of fear. You often notice this fear in young people who choose not to look at you. Same thing,fear. Traveling to over 34 countries all with different dialects etc made no difference. Always found a way to communicate, even with gestures, whatever it takes, we can do it.
Looking forward to your stories on this issue. Please do check out others comments for their insights.
1 comment:
A smile is the universal language of “Hello”. What a great observation you have made about societies, and how we have a tendency to separate “us” from “them”. Fear of the unknown, ignorance of other cultures, and lack of the implementation of the “Golden” or “Silver” Rules is customary in groups and clicks. Exclusivity has been the worse evidence of inhumanity. But, we can change it staring with a smile.
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