Culture Shock
Tonight I was privileged and invited to watch a friend and her three sister perform their traditional dance that they been practicing training and studying for the past thirteen years. All of us that were invited had no idea what to expect. Three sisters, dance. Couldn't attract a lot of people right? I was wrong. They booked out thee Markham Theatre and the entire auditorium was filled. But that was the thing that caught my attention, it was the culture.
From the different costumes to the language and the dance, their culture was displayed ever so strongly and it radiated ever so brightly on stage tonight. Culture. After inhabiting the earth for so many years now, mankind has created and developed their own traditions, languages, religions and rituals. Culture has never been more in my face than it was tonight.
As the three of them graced the stage and mesmerized the audience with their captivating personalities and stories, my mind was racing. Thinking, observing and analyzing. This was such a shock and everything was so new too. I couldn't even begin to imagine the complexity behind the culture I was getting a glimpse of. Did each dance move have a specific meaning, what did each routine represent? Why did they do this action, why are their hands in these specific positions, there must be so much backstory behind it. As aliens (I guess you could say) you have no idea what's going on.
As Christians, many times we think "this is the right way and no other religion is right." but who are we to judge. We should not be looking down on other religions and their views as well. Instead, we should be learning to accept all religions and be respectful of their beliefs and morals. In fact, there are many things we can learn from other religions, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I'm so glad I was granted the opportunity to look into another's religion and get a glimpse into their lives and beliefs. Tonight truly taught me about the complexity culture can be and how careful we have to be with it. I believe it's important to learn about other religions and cultures too. How else could you relate and share with another?
Learning about other cultures can be very fascinating...but also very overwhelming, especially when you realize that the lives of others can be so significantly different from all that you've ever known.
ReplyDeleteReligion, especially, is an interesting one to think about it.
For many parts of the world, the culture you were born in dictates the religion you grow up with and adhere to for the rest of your life...
As Christians, while we might want to share our beliefs with others, it's also important to keep an open mind and understand that not everyone has been brought up to believe what we believe...
The world might be tiny relative to the universe, but it still manages to house billions of lives, each with a different story