Greetings and Happy Midweek!
As the holidays are just about upon us, I thought we could pause in the midst of all the hurry scurry, and take a few moments to explore how to ‘reach beyond’ what we might expect or anticipate this Season’s celebration to look like - culturally in our own contexts and cross-culturally as we interact with others. This fits nicely into the Applications of our Global SKILLs PROACTive Strategies, since starting with the familiar, and then reaching beyond involves applying what we know to new and different perspectives and contexts.*
In our own context, ‘reaching beyond’ culturally could include trying new ways to celebrate. In my early years of living overseas for example, each holiday season presented me with choices like:
~ do I simply miss what I was used to ‘back home’ or do I reach beyond by strengthening new community ties to enjoy through the Season?
~ do I get stuck in the distances separating me from family, or do I reach beyond by planning activities with new friends?
~ do I long for familiar delicacies not available where I am, or do I reach beyond by learning how to prepare and serve foods I have come to enjoy locally?
Cross-culturally, as we reach beyond, we invite others into our lives, and as we share with them and they with us - all of our lives are enriched in so many ways. My holiday celebrations now include cultural bits I have come to treasure over the years - from around the world. Each represents a way in which I did choose to reach beyond - and eventually these came to represent the Season for me, equally as meaningful as what I had once known ‘at home’.
How about you ~ what is one way you might reach beyond culturally this Season?
Share about that with a friend or note it here.
And for your LINKs this week, reach beyond something you are used to…and find a new way to celebrate!
Thanks for being part of this Connect community.
Until next week,
Betsy
Notes:
* Through my business Global SKILLs and several partner subsidiaries I offer unique cross-cultural consulting and training including:
3 Dimensional Dynamics Model: (which we explored this week)
1st dimension = HOME ; 2nd dimension = HOST ; 3rd dimension = HARBOR)
PROACTive Learning Strategies: (which we explored this week) PRO = PROfile, PROcess, PROgram
ACT = Application, Collaboration and Transformation
~ contact me for more information on this model and these strategies and how you might use them in your current programming
2022 ~ Celebrating 40+ years of working in
intercultural communications and global community building
“It takes a community to build a community”
Please Note: this is copyrighted content.
Please do not reproduce or share without my permission (betsy.barbour@gmail.com)