Chapter 42: Babel

Dear reader

Wow, look at you. Exotic, and familiar--my kind of person. Where did you come from? Heaven? :)

I have always enjoyed meeting people from around the globe.What makes me smile is the different approaches they have to life and the cultures that have shaped them. The world is truly a colourful place. With so much diversity, the beauty is endless.

I recently filled out an "Equal Opportunities Diversity Form", where you have to tick boxes to define yourself. For me, I am "Male", "Mixed White and Asian", "Heterosexual", "Other" for religion, and "British" for nationality. I didn't realize I was so many things. Why can't there be one box? "Human", in my opinion, does just fine. :)

In the eyes of God, would any of these things matter? If an alien race came down one day, would they see any of these things that we use to divide ourselves with? Would they realize how we carved up the world? Would they care how we are separated? Separation after all, is only an illusion.


Culture is all about separation. Culture likes to label things. It also likes to label us. It labels us on the sheer randomness that we were born at a specific time, of a specific gender, at a specific place, and in a specific family. If I was born in Lahore, Pakistan, there is a great likelihood that I would be a Pakistani Muslim. If I was born in Texas, the United States, I might very well be a proud Christian in a big ol' American family. If I was born in Vietnam, I might have grown up a Buddhist monk. We cannot choose where we are born. We don't have the choice necessarily, in the culture that we were born into. While the randomness is beautiful, unfortunately, in many cases, culture is not our friend. 

From the moment a child is born, parents are bombarding it with what they think is right and wrong in the world. Total arrogance. What they believe the child should grow up to be, who it should marry, what it should do with its life--even before it's born! Yes, I am proud to have Filipino blood, and yes, I am proud to know of my Dad's European heritage, but to let it define me would be wrong. By all means love your roots, know where you came from, but always remember to love the flower more. The flower is yourself, your individuality and uniqueness. Give yourself a chance to experience new things. Society makes us believe that we were born only as copies. No. We were born as originals, and we should live our lives that way. See all the options on the table, and choose the one that suits you best. 

I could easily blog about what culture wants me to blog about. Believe me, I would get many more views :D. I could blog about the Kardashians, Game of Thrones, and Immigration in the UK. Yet do these things really matter to me? No. I do only what I am passionate about, and so should you. Culture does not serve our passions. It only serves the major corporations and the people who can make money out of your habits.

Let nationality, religion, creed, gender and race be our call to adventure. If you are religious, then beautiful--but do not be afraid to learn other religions too! If you enjoy a good old fashioned English cup of tea, don't be afraid to try new beverages from exotic lands. If you are very masculine, try doing something feminine. If you are a girl, try playing some video games. The options are endless. Break out of these boxes that society puts you in. Doing the same things, over and over again is madness. Einstein himself said this. It is those people who dare to challenge the norm, who try different things, who seek those new experiences, that are changing the world we live in. I am of the opinion that if you try many things in life, you will find that calling--that one thing you were meant to do.

 It is an arrogance to say that our own culture, whichever country we live in, gives us all the answers and fruits in life. No matter how developed we are, we can always learn more from other countries. More importantly, we can learn it our own way. Take our own path. When we realize that it is our journey, and not the journey of anyone else, we free ourselves.

Until next time :)