Imagine living in a bubble where the majority of people you knew were just like you. You went to the same church every Saturday morning. You attended the same private school and university for all of your life. The majority of your family and friends were of the same faith. You believed and hoped in the same things. You think the way you are and the way you live is the norm or the standard. Most of all, you think that the way you live your life is the only right way to live. This bubble is all I have ever known.
Leaving the Seventh-day Adventist bubble back home and coming out to Saipan has been a real eye opening experience for me. Exposure to the many different cultures and religions is making me realize how REALLY different I am. I had the chance to share my faith with other people of different beliefs throughout this past year. I'm embarassed to admit that I was judgemental. . . I thought the things they believed in were crazy and wrong. But then I realized that they probably think that I am crazy in the things I believe in as well. I can be so foolish sometimes. I'm starting to realize that Christianity has been getting a bad wrap. It's fascinating though to hear perspectives about life and God from a Buddhist, Atheist, Catholic, Latter-day Saint, Muslim and others.
My spiritual experience out here has been mind blowing and humbling. I feel my beliefs evolving and growing into something greater than I ever imagined. Living abroad is teaching me to embrace and love the differences I have with others.
4 comments:
Growth is addictive, even though most often I don't fully realize that I'm growing. I think coming to Saipan, or perhaps simply the act of "leaving the bubble," has been a giant growing experience in itself for me, and I'm hooked on it.
There is tension in the process however, trying to grapple with what what is true and what is a hang-up. Openness is beautiful, but I struggle to find a balance of opening myself up to new ideas and holding onto what is important.
I hope that I can find the balance like you...
Love ya! Let's go to Thailand!
Great post, Bev. I've had a similar experience, in part from living in Saipan, but even more so from my involvement with Interference.
What I've learned so far:
1. All of us can be so foolish sometimes. It's not just you. It's called the human condition!
2. Everybody grows up in a bubble of some kind. It's not just us. And we all have to make the effort to burst that bubble and see and understand and appreciate the wider world.
3. Eventually, you come to appreciate the things you took for granted when you were in the "bubble"--you start to recognize what is of real value and what really isn't that important.
I grew up in a Bubble called Saipan. My bubble burst when I moved to Pomona, CA. ;)
i love reading your blogs bev.i feel as though im there.
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