Cultural consciousness is a powerful awakening and something not often fully embraced. We become complacent in our daily lives. Some of us are content, while others create chaos out of discontent. We have the capability to foster growth, no matter where the seed was planted, and yet, we fall back into what is familiar with each new life event or experience. It’s easier.
What’s so important about cultural consciousness?
Human beings need and want to be close to experiences that are most aligned with us.
- Where we are accepted, we can grow.
- When we are understood, we feel valued.
- How we see the world is a lot easier when the world around us has the same lens.
Consciousness
So what happens when we aren’t in the neighborhood we are supposed to be in? Our goodness of fit is out of alignment. We walk around thinking we don’t belong. Bad things do happen to good people. How do those people find peace, love, belonging and acceptance in the land that seems cold or unwelcoming? Awareness.
“Comparison is the thief of Joy” ~ Brene Brown
How can we not compare ourselves? We work on our sense of self as an obsession. Some of us do anyway. Others are completely unaware of who they are to themselves or in relation to the rest of the world. This is the key to discovering an authentic venue of eudemonic happiness. A platform for reality can be how we contribute to our society while in tandem, how our society articulates our worth and value in it, as part of the whole.
Cultural Identity
We love to talk about diversity, but in truth, being surrounded by people not-like-us, scares us. We are terrified to accept that we will be judged, or compared to, or rejected by those ‘others’. Fear and vulnerability are the work of every researcher who focuses on what makes life worth living.
Human beings are social creatures. Several of our endeavors in the field of psychology aim to help us understand this about ourselves. When we cry with others, we feel heard. When we laugh with others, we feel a bond of unity. When we are consciously aware of others, we know that we are connected on a soul level.
Gratitude. Grace and Grit
To truly thrive in a world that is as diverse as the stars in our galaxy, I encourage us all to choose to become aware of the others on our planet. Our own personal development does not diminish the value of any other person’s sense of self. It elevates it.
When I can find the light in you, I see a reflection of the light in myself. When you see the light in me, I’m guided to seek deeper for the light in my own truth.
Peace is the birthplace of conscious awareness. Culture is her guidepost to connection.
Peace and love,
Karen
Author: Karen Henry, Positive Psychology Practitioner and author since 2007. Owner, Henry Healing.