Meeting all kinds of new people
When I cycled home from kickboxing, I thought it would be a good idea to get out more often. I believe it is a good thing to visit places outside your comfort zone. Places you would normally not go to. In my case, it could be places where students hang out, or senior citizens. Some of these might even be places I would normally avoid, but if it’s safe, why not go there?
I was born and grew up in a little village near the sea, where fishermen and harbor workers dwelled. It was not normal to enroll in university (and not leave for good); most guys just went to the harbor or a factory to find a job. However, it was normal to do kickboxing, which most of my current professional relations consider deviant. Despite these and other differences, my curiosity was strong enough to take me to new places and I have learned a lot from it.
Still, I consider Harlingen (the name of the village) my home, even though I do not live there anymore. I relate to the people I grew up with. This was less the case when I first arrived in the academic setting that I believed would be a gathering place of likeminded people. Soon the realization came that I am what I am: a guy raised in and kneaded by a little village near the sea. Even though I may have a more intellectual and inquisitive stance, I am still more like these guys than my fellow students, whom I share my intellectual needs with.
It is clear that professional environments require a different disposition than those regarded normal in most harbor villages. By being ‘out there’, I learned about people who were sometimes very different from me, which helped me respect other’s views more. Unfortunately, I sometimes experience that it is hard for them to do the same. Some of them even failed to relate to any of the views or ideas of others on an empathic level. I suppose a couple of them did not even try.
This made me think of something my mother said once. She told me that it is easier for the thinker to switch to the doers´ level, than the other way around. But it seems to me that many people whom we might regard intelligent, lack the intelligence to level with people who lead different lives, have different habits, and hold different world views. This reinforces my belief that you should meet ‘the other’.
Perhaps the most important reason for me to continue and try to put more effort into meeting people who are not like me, is because it teaches me a lot about myself. About who I am, or want to be. Or don’t want to be. Moreover, I think it helps me to be more understanding and patient. It improves my judgments. It is beneficial for my personality. It is through others that I come to truly see myself.
Please let me know if you get out often to meet new people who are unlike you and what you’ve experienced through the interactions with them.
If you want to learn more about my projects and endeavors, visit www.bascinations.com.
