Broadening One's Horizons

It's amazing how considering how vast the universe is human beings by the nature of their birth tend to be constrained and limited in their perspectives. Being born into nuclear families hailing from certain regions of particular tribes or ethnicities has meant that we grow up steeped in certain cultures and world views. As a result people form very definitive views about how things should be, and what is right or wrong. These come from cultural norms and practices combined with the sets of laws we are required to follow. 

Moving from one country to another as a child I found out that there were major differences in how my peers and I understood the workings of the world. My friends and relatives who had grown up in a country freed from colonialism, and still somewhat in thrall to the colonial masters; couldn't quite wrap their heads round the idea of racial discrimination and oppression. Even the notion of tribalism didn't quite prepare them for the concept of racial prejudice. It did mean that certain conversations didn't go swimmingly. But this wasn't because they didn't care or sympathise; it was just a lack of understanding stemming from the absence of a relevant frame of reference. 

It is important that all human beings broaden their horizons. It represents a form of growth through self development and introduces people to different perspectives from around the world. This allows a better understanding of what motivates others and what drives their thoughts and actions. But what it also does is offer a comparator to the the things we know and the norms we have always lived by.

Education is a great way to broaden one’s horizons and expand one’s mind. It provides us with both knowledge and information. It also trains our minds to take in and analyse information. In sound minds this develops a yearning to learn and a facility for enquiring about the nature of things. There are those who education just about brings them up to the level of buffoon. It can't work for everyone. 

Travel is another good way to broaden one's horizons. Travelling to other states in one's country isn't a bad idea. It fosters a deeper appreciation of other tribes and areas. However, if one is to discourage the notion that the whole world revolves around just one's own country then traveling abroad might be the way to go. Being abroad is like being promoted to a higher class. You're seeing yourself in all the usual situations but you now have to operate at a higher level. Travelling abroad not only introduces you to new places, history and culture; it also gives you the opportunity to personally mature. You get to organise yourself, and learn to form new relationships with things, people and places. You can no longer rely on the familiar so you are shocked into creating a new frame of reference to live by. You learn to adapt or you suffer the consequences. 

As it turns out there's more to this life than what we know. There's even more to what we know than we have learned. Being a more rounded person ultimately makes you a better person. Though not necessarily a good person (go figure). But that's just one one of the things you come to realise as you broaden your horizons.