Have you ever sat down and think why you speak as you speak, use the words you use, use the clothing you wear and why you define yourself as you define yourself and think as you think? The answers to these questions are in your cultural landscape and how much you have allowed it to define you, your decisions and how you see reality.
The cultural landscape is nothing more than the set of myths and beliefs found in a culture. This group of' rules ' are the largest and most solid union of relative truths that we believe -and sometimes have as- absolute truths. The former differ from the latter in a fundamental aspect: on the Absolutes we have nothing to do as to whether we believe in them or not.
Relative Truth Vs absolute truth
Relative truths are the realities we adopt from our culture or from our social groups, those that are open to debate. Absolute truths are those over which there is no debate, such as Newton's laws and gravity.
When we manage to understand that there are truths that are not reality for everyone, and that it is as true as that the Colombian culture is different from the Venezuelan and the Japanese different from the Chinese, we understand that there are a number of rules that 'apply' for certain groups but very surely do not apply for others. And this is because families are different, groups of friends are different, contexts are different and that is why it is important to recognize when one of these relative truths has defined and become 'absolute' truth-limitations that are imposed by this cultural landscape.
As the rules imposed by the cultural landscape are relative you have control over whether to follow it or not, unlike inertia or gravity, on these rules you decide whether to follow them or not. At first you did not decide, they were imposed on you by your sociocultural context and so you can challenge them. Of these you will find many, and you will find much more reason to stop following them, especially those that have limited you: 'study something that gives you money','work to be someone in life'.
To find out which rules are part of your cultural landscape, answer the following questions:
Did I take this rule of culture or religion ?
Is it based on rational choice or is it contagion ?
Does it serve my happiness ?
These rules could be limiting all the potential you have, although there are negative cultural rules there are also positive ones -although they are few- so when you review which cultural rules have defined your life make sure you put aside those that limit and embrace those that empower.
If this content has added value to you, help me bring it to more people. Share and comment.
Comentários