As I have travelled around this world one thing has become clearer and clearer to me, that in every culture I have had the pleasure to visit there is an overwhelming need to defend it. Let me explain what I mean. Recently on a visit to France visiting family and while eating a wonderful lunch, talking as often as conversations go about the world we live in, we got around to Immigration. Now being British and Brexit is on the cards the conversation led to about all the brits that have made there home in France and how they don’t learn the language, don’t integrate and form communities full of only British people. It wasn’t said with hate or disrespect but it was said with frustration and anger. It got me to thinking about all the other places I have visited, and when I think about it it is pretty much the same all over the world. Panamá has huge communities of ex pat’s as does Spain and many other places. I have met some of the most amazing and wonderful people on my travels, most of them intergrate into their chosen communities, learn the language and do great things to improve the community they live in. Some don’t!
Here’s the thing? People love to moan about immigration in there home countries about the bad things it brings etc, they leave for another country and become the same immigrant that they complained about and left behind. The more I think about it it’s the same the world over, it has led to wars, the death of many many people, we forget we are human beings, how can it be that one human being can be so horrendously awful to another? The world has forgotten what we are, we are human beings, were animals that love to share, be together, eat together, love one and another etc. Etc. I have sat and ate meals with Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Jews all around the same table laughing and conversing. Now it seems to me on a basic individual level we all get along just fine. It is only when big groups and societies are formed, when an individual or individuals get together to take control, do things start to go seriously wrong. Why? A natural instinct to be at the top of the tree? To protect what you have? To have more? Be the leader and shape what you want forgetting what your neighbour needs? To tell the people what they should do and don’t do? I could go on and on.
For me, we have forgotten to listen only too quickly are we ready to tell people what WE think and what THEY should do. That is not the way forward it’s time to listen, to educate with a passion for what you believe in, not with a doom and gloom but with honesty and compassion, we cannot inflict what we believe on people, it only ever ends in disaster, leads to separation and frustration.
We need to learn to be compassionate to our fellow human beings, we need to learn to listen and to learn to communicate effectively with each other again, when was the last time you heard a friends voice? To easily we text or email.
Back to the beginning of this writing, on my travels I have learnt to listen again, to accept people for who they are, I take time out to talk, eat together and most of all I remember we are all human beings with the same basic needs. We are wonderful beings, so everyday I give a smile to a stranger, a welcome handshake or a “ Good morning” I remember, we don’t all speak the same language but we all are human beings.
Happy travels
