William Butler Yeats once said: “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met.” This famous quote reminds me that everyone whom I met in my life is a friend who I like to respect and love no matter what.
The Dojo trip to West Bali was such an unforgettable experience and opportunity to explore another part of Bali and at the same time spend time with new friends from the Dojo community. The experience draws me to the realization that we are one family.
Me and you are just born in different countries with different cultures and languages. However, we are just the same human being with the same feelings, emotions and affections. We are all speaking the same language with different sounds.
The question is; why are we making a distinction between Asians, Americans, Africans or Europeans? Why are we differentiating between a black or a white person? A male or female?
Spending time with my fellow colleagues from Dojo during this trip has taught me so many things. There was nothing between us. We learned some typical Balinese cultural gestures such as simple prayers for harvests. However, something more important, is that we have learned the culture of humankind.
Listening to each others’ stories is one way to learn and to be open to a new horizon. Sympathy is key to create this new meaning of humankind.
On our two day trip I have learned so much about the culture of others. While I taught my companions some expressions in Indonesian, I came to realized that we have the same understanding, one word, that gives us the same feeling, but we both name it differently in different languages. It shows that there is no real difference between us.
I am aware that the economic and social disparities are barriers that prevent us to cross social boundaries. It’s noticeable in our day to day life. The difference between the rich and the poor, the white and the black creates a dichotomy in the society. I believe, this dichotomy can be reconciled if we are willing to let go of boundaries and be friendly with anyone without prejudice.
Community life in a coworking space is a great way to motivate us to meet and socialize with other. To get to know our fellow coworkers. A lifestyle as a digital nomad is constantly confronting us with different cultures and nations. It definitely helps us to let go of the static dichotomy and make us realize that the “differences” we notice, are only labels, mental constructs
I myself have been living in an international community since 8 years. In those years I have learned that differences are not a boundary that prevent us to live together. Our differences are indeed a way to cultivate our sense of humankind. The sense of humankind is the ability to relate and open up with others without prejudice. Culture and language are actually not the obstacles in our relationships.
The deepest core of humankind is love and forgiveness. Seeing a farmer in a village who is living a very simple life but are still happily sharing, can be an example of the meaning of humankind itself.Evolution has created a dichotomy in social life. Social interactions that before were done in a simple way, now turned mostly to commercial encounters.
Will we continue to be stuck in this mindset? Looking at the development of our society today, no doubt, people will continue to struggle creating a better society. The question is: How can we create a better society in today’s world? I have only one answer to this; that is to learn the language of humankind – a universal language. However, there are people whose serendipity of humankind went missing. We have to learn and to be more sensitive to everyone around us in order to grow in our sense of humankind.
The more I’m open to others, the more I am sensitive to humankind. Living together in a community with people from different backgrounds makes me aware of who I am and who the people around me are. It makes me realize that the diversity that we have is not something to be contested but a beauty to be enjoyed. The diversity that we have will certainly make our life more colorful. Imagine a garden where only one plant grows. It does not look as beautiful as a garden with different flowers in it.The same is true for our life. We are all individually special so that we can contribute to the uniqueness of this beautiful world.This brief reflection is an invitation to grow in our sense of humankind. Take away all prejudices that can destroy our brotherhood. Learning the language of humankind is a call to embrace one another as a family. This is the call of the soul to embrace each other as brothers.
