[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Identity Crisis & Resolution: Personal Growth ©2023]

Our first key must be one of introspection and insight. When events threaten to shatter our sense of self, we begin by assessing those aspects that remain, what’s truly changing, and how we can best support our process of transformation.

In any time of change, identity or otherwise, we need solid grounding so that we aren’t simply swept away in the storm. We can allow the storm to swirl around us, remaining as much in the calm eye of it as possible, knowing that it will feel (but perhaps not actually be) threatening and chaotic and at times incomprehensible and even deeply painful, if only we can still feel ourselves connected to our core.

And so – we search, and assess.

You may be someone who regularly undertakes processes of introspection. Perhaps you meditate, contemplate, engage in psychotherapy, keep a journal. All of these will serve you well in such a time, of course, when much of what we thought we knew about ourselves is suddenly (or seemingly sudden) in question. And if you aren’t such a person, or you’ve let those habits become lax, now might be the time to engage. We don’t need many – just one or possibly two that are best for you.

What we seek are our presence and sources of meaning, and our values. Naturally, this may be what’s shifting in the course of an identity crisis – but usually not everything at once. When not in crisis, we do well to become supremely aware of, and regularly revisit, our values and sources of meaning, so that we have this foundation to rely on in those times of flux. When inside the chaos, even if we are in fact regularly introspective and know (or knew) ourselves well, we must reassess: what values do I still hold, that aren’t being thrown into question? What sources of meaning do I still retain?

For example, let’s say that you’ve been subjected to a severe natural disaster. (May it never be so.) You may find yourself questioning your faith – many do, in such cases with high mortality and higher suffering – which was previously a major source of meaning and value. Ultimately, you may abandon your belief altogether, rely on your deity and your religious community more than ever before, or shift to another spiritual tradition. At the same time, your value of family is not in question, and you can rely on this; you may also value your own mental flexibility and resilience, and find that it continues to serve you well in such circumstance. Or, you may find that the value and meaning you placed in being a member of your society is now shattered, and perhaps your core sense of security, as your government failed to respond to the disaster in an appropriate way, or citizens took the opportunity to engage in looting or worse. In that case, you may find that your value of religion is your constant.

We need to know: what’s being questioned, what has been shattered or has dissolved, and what do I retain that will be my grounding – my anchor as the ship that is my life is tossed about by this storm?

Journaling, if you find writing helpful rather than stressful, is a very useful tool for introspection. In the act of putting words on paper, you’re releasing some of their emotional impact; often, we find ourselves writing something we didn’t know that we thought or felt, which emerges only in the act of journal-writing itself. You’ll want to ensure the privacy of your journal, and keep your inner censor at bay so that you can write honestly and openly without self-judgment. You’ll also want to consider writing quickly, for the same reason – so that your thoughts, feelings, and insights emerge before you have time to question them.

If you aren’t a writer or have a physical reason why you cannot, an audio or video journal is equally useful, and very convenient with our modern phones. We can record just 5-10 minutes any time that’s convenient, to explore new insights, facilitate our inner process, and reduce the emotional impact. As with writing, however, ensure that you are the only one with access to these recordings, so that you don’t start speaking for an audience instead (i.e., self-censoring).

Journal-writing (or recording), often called the therapist at our fingertips, has been shown over and over in the research to be beneficial to one’s mental wellbeing, and to be a source of insight. Far from a simple recounting of one’s day, it should be aimed toward knowing ourselves, especially in such time of identity flux. Some useful writing prompts: Who am I right now? (This can be asked at any/every journal entry.) What am I feeling, and what’s beneath that? What’s remaining stable, and what’s changing? Who do I hope to become? If I could be anyone, without any restrictions, what type of person would I be, and why?

Equally useful is meditation. If you already have a meditative practice, try to continue it even during these times of identity reorganization, when it can be more challenging to do so but is even more important than ever. If you don’t yet have such practice, and whether or not you’re currently undergoing some sort of identity change, you may wish to begin one.

Meditation doesn’t have to be mysterious; it’s a quieting of the mind, a singular focus, a form of mental training. In this case, we want to use meditation for introspection and to help us in our process of identity change, so rather than attempting to ‘empty the mind’ we aim for contemplation instead.

The simplest approach is as follows: sit comfortably in a quiet space, distractions minimized, eyes closed, focusing on your slow and steady breathing. Once you’re feeling peaceful, that your mind has shifted into a lower gear, as it were, then bring the idea of identity – “Who am I? Who am I becoming?” to mind. Focus on this thought, keep your focus on it as much as possible, and allow insights to arise like thought bubbles. Don’t worry about remembering what comes to you; you’ll follow this with a process of reflection, and most or all of these insights will return.

When you notice that you’ve gotten distracted by other thoughts, your mind wandering (it will; you haven’t failed, as it’s normal), just smile and refocus on your breathing, slowly in, slowly out, then shift your focus back to your topic once more. After 10 minutes or so (if you do set a timer, make sure it’s a very gentle or gradual sound to ease you back to an alert state), take a deep breath, and open your eyes.

You can’t ‘fail’ at meditation. (Many think that they’re no good at it.) We just aren’t used to quiet anymore, and even 10 minutes of silence can feel long and get filled with distraction. Like any skill, it does get better with practice – and those wanderings in early days are utterly normal. Just smile at your ‘monkey mind’ that wants to play and wander…and simply refocus. Be gentle with yourself. (But don’t let the monkey take charge of the process. Always bring your focus back to the topic of your meditation.)

The combination of meditation and journal-writing immediately thereafter is an especially effective self-therapy. You’ll want to have some sort of reflective process following meditation as mentioned, so that you can further explore any of those thoughts or feelings that arose in the quietude.

We also want to explore the rewriting of our life story. (Again, ‘write’ isn’t meant literally; recording via audio or video is equally useful.) This is a very effective approach. The story of one’s life, or a particular portion or incident, perhaps that which precipitated the crisis of identity, has already occurred and cannot be changed. However, how we tell that story going forward, including to ourselves in our own mind, is ours to decide.

This doesn’t mean that we make up a fantasy, about how things didn’t actually happen. Rather, it’s a matter of perspective. For example: I was once solo-trekking along the coastline of an island during a typhoon. (Never mind the ‘why’ of it.) At a particular point, it was especially dangerous; I was standing on a ledge jutting out from rockface that should have been well above sea level, waves nevertheless surging up to my waist, and quickly looking for my next hand- and foothold in the few moments each time the waves receded. My anxiety was high, though I knew that to survive I had to remain calm; the roiling sea below me would be entirely unforgiving if I lost my footing. And in one particular moment, I thought to myself: If I survive this, I’m going to get a very good story out of it.

After the fact and in the years since, I could have been focused on the trauma, or the danger, or the high anxiety of that moment. Rather, I’ve chosen to maintain my focus on the moments just after that ledge, when I finally traversed it safely and reached more secure footing – and was flooded with relief and endorphins that made me feel superhuman; in that moment, I felt that I could do anything. When I recall that event, it’s this moment that has become the story’s pivotal point. (That, and the line about getting a good story out of it.)

Let’s consider whatever event has caused a crisis of identity. It may be a truly sudden and devastating loss, such as the death of a child due to an accident. For quite a while, perhaps grief is all-consuming; when the dark cloud of emotion begins to lift just a little, we can then start to reorganize our own identity – and, choose how we’ll tell ourselves this story going forward. With time, it will either be a deeply tragic memory…or we’ll focus instead on all the good moments that preceded it, or the child’s bright personality and our deep love. The event happens to us. The story of it, the perspective we choose to take, is ultimately in our hands. This can be especially useful as we move toward a new and somehow altered sense of identity. What story of the self do we choose to tell?

Finally: the SWOT analysis. From the business world, it’s also very useful for personal introspection, especially in times of change such as this. Strengths, weaknesses (I prefer ‘challenges’), opportunities, and threats – you can brainstorm, writing on a sheet of paper, each of these categories, filling the page with as many words as pop into your mind, determining not only your strong and weak points for making this change to your identity, but also what opportunities are presented and what will stand in your way. This isn’t a one-time exercise; it’s a self-assessment that we should undertake at regular intervals, especially in times of change.

And so, as Socrates taught us: know thyself. Figure out who you are now, who you’re leaving behind, who you are becoming. Each step of the way.

[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Embracing Change: Personal Growth ©2023 : Ch.1]

We begin with meaning-making. (Doesn’t everything?)

That may seem counter-intuitive, since change often brings a profound shift in our personal sense of meaning, but identifying the sources of meaning in one’s life gives us precisely the rootedness we need when facing the uncertainty of change. We need such grounding when approaching change we’ve welcomed, whether personal development or a major life shift; we especially need it when change is unexpected and unwelcome, throwing life into chaos.

We humans are meaning-making creatures, looking for significance all around us, finding meaning in relationships, creating elaborate belief systems. The idea that life is meaningless is untenable, even to the most secular; meaning, after all, doesn’t have to come in a religious wrapping, but can be found in numerous ways.

There’s presence of meaning and search for meaning, the former healthy, the latter a form of adjustment when meaning has been shaken – or less healthy when a continual process. That is, most would readily identify at least 1 or 2 primary sources of meaning in life: family and friends, religion or spirituality, nature, profession, art, our life purpose, service to humanity, for example. When we face profound loss, especially a shock such as sudden death or natural disaster, our sense of meaning is typically shaken or lost altogether – and we search for meaning often even in the event itself, in order to regain our balance. The person who is always searching for meaning, however, either never finding it or identifying it briefly in a succession of areas that never endure, research indicates as less mentally healthy.

And so how does having a sense of meaning contribute to our ability to embrace change?

It becomes the eye of the storm. When in the midst of transition, when facing that valley of despair or sense of being ‘stuck’ and unable to move forward, or that we’re in a period of chaos and uncertainty, we rely on those areas that represent our rootedness and therefore our calm. From there, we can maintain our stability overall, even as other aspects are in great flux.

To wit: the person going through a divorce that they didn’t initiate and don’t want, which is turning their world upside-down as they face the loss of their home, dissolution of their family, divided loyalty among friends, a profound shift in identity, and possible financial instability, the way through such a storm is to find its eye: those sources of meaning that are not currently in flux, to which one can cling for a sense of safety.

The person without a strong sense of life meaning, on the other hand, when facing a profound life change, will often flounder, may become psychologically unstable, and will generally find the transition much more emotionally challenging.

These roots we find through our presence of meaning provide us with a margin of control when in a situation over which we’ve none. And so, we do well to clarify our sources of meaning in those times of relative stability, when not amid change, so that we know precisely where to place our focus in times of flux. As well, we can strengthen those sources; if we identify our close friends as providing us with a sense of meaning, yet of late we haven’t made the time to see them, we may wish to make more effort. It’s difficult, when in the midst of chaos, to identify meaning as too often, all seems meaningless; better that we should be very clear about it in advance.

As well, in the middle of major change when all those negative thoughts appear at 3am and disturb our sleep (as even in change we’ve initiated and welcome, we’ll still be stressed and filled with self-doubt and visions of failure), we can go through a conscious process of assessment (in daylight hours). We look directly at our change, and also at our sources of meaning, and we realize that they represent 2 sides of a scale, one balancing the other. This serves to ground us and reestablish some sense of identity and of control.

What we’re doing is not only reinforcing our sense of support, though certainly that. We’re focusing on all that’s meaningful in our life and is not currently undergoing change, which provides us with the very stability needed. Roots. Grounding.

In endeavors of personal development, our sources of meaning can also remind us why we’re working so hard to make change. As we attempt to quit smoking one more time, it may be the meaning that we derive from family, or health, that motivates us. We may be working to reach a new level of maturity, in order that we’re better prepared to have a child and start a family one day. Perhaps we’ve become aware of behavior patterns that tend to drive away friends or lovers, and we want to develop new ways of being instead, so that we can better maintain relationships. Meaning gives motivation for change.

Education, learning, knowledge also provide a source of meaning, and when in the throes of transition, we do well to learn as much as possible about whatever we’re facing. At least initially, especially in unwelcome change, we may prefer to ignore and pretend it isn’t happening instead; as a short-term coping mechanism, there’s nothing wrong with this, but it isn’t a long-term solution. Instead, the more we know, the less frightened we’re likely to be, and the more centered and capable of functioning as a result.

Best to be very clear about your own sources of meaning prior to any major and potentially devastating, or at the least chaotic, period of change. You can brainstorm this, in writing on a blank sheet of paper as quickly as possible (so you don’t self-censor) all that brings meaning to your life – not simply joy or pleasure, but that makes life meaningful, significant. As a second step, you can do this exercise again but in a mind-mapping format; on the back of that same paper, write “meaning” in its center and then as you surround it with words similar to before, draw lines and patterns connecting them to one another as you go. Perhaps in one corner we have “personal relationships,” for example, and stemming from that, “family,” “friends,” and “colleagues”.

You can also spend some time meditating on this topic; sitting comfortably in a quiet space, your mind stilled and distractions minimized, bring your focus to your slow and steady breathing; then, shift your focus to a central thought: meaning, and sources of meaning in your life. Explore this for a while (and if you notice your mind has wandered, as it will do, just bring it back on-topic each time); when ready, focus once more on your breathing, then slowly come to a fully alert state.

You’ll want to follow this with some process of reflection, such as journal writing, audio-recording your thoughts, or discussing with someone close to you. What came to you as you meditated? What did it mean to you? What’s the deeper layer? How is it all interrelated? (You can also explore this with journal writing or similar alone, of course, separate from meditation.)

Yet another method is to focus on your values. Make a list: what do you value most? There may be some overlap – perhaps personal relationships are a value – but intangibles will enter this list, too; maybe you value your religious beliefs, education, nature, community, health, honesty or trustworthiness, your home, the city in which you live, love. Our most important values also signify sources of meaning.

Five areas of meaning are generally identified: material (pets, possessions, professional achievement, wealth, sport, leisure, nature); social (family, friends, community, contributing to society); self-growth (creativity, education, goal achievement, self-care); transcendent (religion / spirituality, justice / ethics, freedom, metaphysical, interconnectedness of all sentient beings; and, life itself – or existence – or this present moment.

Meaning. And meaning-making.

[excerpted from, Intercultural Competence ©2023 : Chapter 1]

Our first ‘Big Question’: How can we define ‘culture’, and what elements does it contain?

We turn first to a couple of cultural study experts for their definitions. Geert Hofstede, whose model of cultural dimensions we’ll return to later, defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.” And this, from scholar David Matsumoto: “the set of attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors shared by one group of people, but different for each individual, and communicated from one generation to the next.” (Interesting, that. A group identification and yet different in actual experience for each individual.) Finally, UNESCO, those protectors of tangible and intangible cultural heritage: “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature, but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs.”

For the non-scholar, there are 3 primary interpretations of culture. The first is one of intellectual or artistic endeavors, and often further described as either high culture, requiring specific education in order to fully appreciate (e.g., opera) or low, or popular / of the masses (e.g., pop music). In the second, culture is viewed as the whole of society – its knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, capabilities, habits – as mutually agreed by (dominant) society members, or a majority thereof; this may describe all levels of society from the simple to the complex. In the 3^rd view, culture is far more nuanced with each society containing many and varied cultures; these aren’t seen as high or low, and complex isn’t better than simple – just different.

That iceberg model of culture mentioned in our introduction was first published in 1976 by American anthropologist and culture expert, Edward Hall. What we easily recognize in a society, then, the behaviors and artifacts, can be viewed in language, customs or habits, foods, literature, music and performance, holidays and festivals. Covert elements of culture are what challenge our understanding, including those who are members of the culture in question. The beliefs and assumptions, values and norms, of a group are demonstrated in communication styles and rules, courtesy and manners, concepts of beauty and modesty, personal space and relationship to privacy, body language and gestures as well as facial features and eye contact. This deeply embedded layer of culture is further demonstrated in concepts of selfhood, time, justice; it’s also manifest in relationships to authority, power, and social class, and in roles based on gender, age, position, as well as in work ethic, and expectations. And much, much more.

The tangibles are relatively accessible. The intangibles are another matter altogether.

Twelve key characteristics of culture have been identified. It manifests at different depths as outlined, such as artifacts vs values, and is distinct from both universal human behavior and individual personality – even as it has both universal and distinctive elements. It affects behavior and the interpretation of same, as well as biological processes such as eating, coughing, or pain response. Culture is both an individual and a social construct, though created in the latter context, and is directly associated with social groups (nation, region, ethnicity, religion, generation, gender, social class). Learned through socialization (Hofstede’s ‘programming’), culture is always distributed both socially and psychologically, with unclear boundaries. Its various parts are all interrelated to some degree or another, it’s subject to gradual change as a society evolves (or devolves), and is ultimately a descriptive rather than evaluative concept.

There are surely misconceptions about culture as well. It’s commonly viewed as something physical which, as we’ve now seen, is only a small percentage of the whole; it’s also typically though falsely believed to consist of custom and behavior, which again is only one aspect. Culture is often presumed to be uniformly distributed through its group, though we’ve also seen that it manifests differently for each individual, however subtly; culture is never homogeneous, another common misconception – as we’re all guilty of referring to ‘French’ or ‘male’ culture, for example. Culture isn’t timeless, but changes either gradually as a people change, or suddenly when a major event occurs (especially one that forever changes the way people live, like the 2001 terrorist attack in New York City or the very recent pandemic). And finally, it’s often though erroneously believed that an individual has one culture, most often national or ethnic in origin, when in reality, we are each made up of numerous cultural influences.

Culture, then – or cultures, to be more accurate – define the identity of the individual. In one such model, shaped as a pyramid, the foundational or largest part consists of human nature, which is universal and inherited. Next is culture, specific to a group or category, though this middle layer should perhaps be made up of many facets like a prism, to be more accurate; this factor of identity is learned, in particular through social conditioning as we go through childhood, further reinforced throughout adulthood by the society in which we live. And finally in this model, individual personality is the top and smallest portion of the pyramid, both inherited and learned or conditioned.

Culture, then, second only to biologically-driven human nature and far more significant than individual personality, is a major force in the formation of one’s identity. Identity becomes not only a question of “Who am I?” but also of “Where do I belong?”

Further, we must look at cultural patterning and variation.

Are you similar to other members of your culture? Do you inherently know how to be a member of that group? If so – how do you know?

There are 3 elements of culture: traits, complexes, and patterns, and they build on one another. Traits are those individual aspects, a tool or skill, action, or belief regarding a specific situation or need. A complex is a cluster of interrelated cultural traits, and a pattern is then a combination of multiple complexes in an interrelated whole.

How we know how to be, then, is of course because we’ve been taught, but it depends on this complexity. We don’t just pull out a single cultural trait like using a screwdriver for a task; it’s situated within a set of interrelated traits which are then bundled together with other sets to form complex patterns. Think of customs around death and mourning, for example, a rich source of cultural study. How we view and handle death and dying, how we bury, what ceremony accompanies this, and what we believe happens to the person who has died as well as those who remain, how long a person is expected to mourn, whether there are anniversary customs or similar long after the time of death – all this and more forges a complex cultural patterning. We know how to act, how to be, then, in all its nuances, because we’ve been taught and observed other members of our society through time, to this very rich complexity. And the list of patterns is endless – thus, the weight that culture is given in one’s individual identity formation.

And then there are cultural variations. In that previous question – of course you aren’t the same as all members of your culture, though you’ll have many similarities. There are universal features found in all cultures – customs of cooking, family, celebrations, funeral as mentioned, gift-giving and hospitality, religion and sport, myths and folktales, music and dance, tool-making, language, medicine. The broad strokes of these are shared by most members of that culture. Variation, however, is always found within these features, due in part to individual traits (maybe you hate dancing or can’t cook) but also to subcultures and counter-cultures.

As I spent a majority of my life in New York City, prior to my relocation abroad in 2005, I’ve never identified overmuch with US culture as a whole. New York is highly diverse with a global perspective, encouraged by the many ethnic groups represented within the city – quite a few members of whom are recent immigrants and haven’t become acculturated but maintain many cultural features from their homelands – and by the presence of the UN and other international bodies. Most of the rest of the country is almost as mysterious to us as to anyone from elsewhere. Beyond this, I’ve various individual traits and subcultures to which I belong that also don’t align with dominant American culture, and so I always felt a bit like that square peg in a round hold – which undoubtedly made it easier for me to go abroad and adopt an international lifestyle.

This is simply to say: one can be a stranger within one’s native culture. (I could also tell you about many characteristics within me – independence and self-sufficiency, directness, optimism, a belief in open-ended possibility of self-reinvention, for a start – that I know to be byproducts of my American heritage.)

Finally, a word of caution: as you attempt to gain intercultural understanding, be on guard against both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. We’ll be looking more closely at this in our chapter on models, but for now, ethnocentrism is a natural bias toward one’s own culture as the norm, unconsciously judging others on this basis. (You can see this regularly in culturally mixed online discussion groups.) And cultural relativism, which swings too far in the opposite direction, is a view that each culture should be assessed based solely on its own standards, and that all features are valid within that context. While there are no cultural universals, there are general expectations against the harm or enslavement of another human being, for example, which may result in a near-universal condemnation of child marriage, domestic violence, honor killing, or similar.

Culture is a very complex thing – and goes a long way toward defining who we are as individuals.

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Exercises

Discussion or Contemplation: What is culture? What is cultural patterning (universals) and variation? How does this apply to my own culture?

Writing or Recording: What patterns and variations can I identify in my own culture? How does this fit me personally?

Further Reading: What is Culture?

Global Mind

[excerpted from, Developing a ‘Global Mind’ ©2023, chapter 1]

We begin with our ‘Big Question’: What is ‘global mind’ – and why does it matter?

And a follow-up: Does ‘global mind’ equal ‘global citizenship’?

At its most basic, ‘citizenship’ is a legal and political term indicating our full and (hopefully) equal membership in a particular community – officially, at a national level. And in our world today, change is still initiated and enforced primarily at that national stratum. Even with such intergovernmental organizations as the UN (and its predecessor, the League of Nations), International Court of Justice, World Bank, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Health Organization, and more, it’s still national governments that determine the vast majority of issues for their citizens.

The concept of ‘nation-state’ as a structure is a relatively recent one, only truly coming into being as of the 19^th century, though our understanding of ‘country’ and ‘kingdom’ stretches far back in human history, and ‘city-states’ existed in ancient times. Our sense of belonging to a local group – originally a tribe or clan – is far more natural to us than thinking of ourselves as a member of the whole of humanity, a notion that, in reality, is too vast for the human mind to comprehend. The nation-state is conceived similarly to that of family, and indeed, we must understand and act locally before we can truly engage globally.

Specifically, the first step to developing a global mind is knowing one’s own culture well – and therefore, one’s cultural biases. But we’ll get to that soon.

So, is true ‘global citizenship’ possible?

Legally, of course, no, although I imagine you already knew that. There’s no global passport (oh, how often I’ve wished that there were), and national borders are truly meaningful (as I can attest, having crossed several contested and several other especially challenging ones). National borders are political, and to a degree, cultural – though this is debatable, as we consider for example the Catalan people in Spain, Andorra, and France, who share a culture, or the Buryats in Eastern Siberia who have much more in common with their Mongolian roots than with the numerous other ethnic groups surrounding them, and there are many other such examples. Within one nation, we often find multiple cultures – the US is a prime example of this, but it could be said in many others; China, for example, officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups, and even within one ethnic makeup, there are multiple subcultures to be found. Culture, it turns out, is far more complex than borders would allow.

Borders are also blurring – if not legally, then by the digital transformation of our world. Ease of travel and high levels of migration have also brought profound change to the meaning of borders, and of culture. Globalization, for purposes of trade, business, and economy, and for all its faults alongside its benefits, barely recognizes borders at all. We’ve a number of global concerns, the climate crisis chief among them but surely not the only one, that can only be addressed by international efforts – and nations simply don’t have the option of ignoring these problems because they’re shared by everyone. The air we breathe, after all, knows no borders. And so, the idea of ‘global community’ is beginning to hold more meaning than ever before.

(Buddhists, with their concept of nonduality, have been in support of this for 15 centuries already; those who’ve ever experienced the mystical experience induced by psychedelics or another method, which often manifests as universal interconnectedness, can also attest.)

And a ‘global mind’?

Being globally-minded is first of all a choice, and a perspective. It requires awareness both of oneself and others, in an ongoing engagement in personal development and understanding. Its aspect of interest in and respect for all cultures has been called ‘cultural empathy in practice’ and more recently, cultural intelligence or one’s culture quotient [CQ], though that term has also been applied to a wide concept of ‘culture’ that includes the business arena. It’s a careful cultivation of value-based decision-making that allows for the different and sometimes opposite views and values of others, in an open-minded approach to life and the world. But above all, it’s grounded in social and political engagement within one’s own community. As a global citizen, we want to contribute to a better community, country, and world.

We must first be truly involved in our own community. Then, civic responsibility extends beyond one’s national borders – but isn’t simply a substitute for same. You’d be well within your rights to question my own circumstance, though, in which I’ve left my native country completely in order to engage with the world, seeming to trade one for the other. My global life, however, was preceded by those aforementioned 25 years of social and political activism for multiple causes, a deep engagement in my home country – which formed the foundation of my quest for global identification over these past 20 years. Living abroad long-term is in fact an extraordinary experience, not the usual approach to global citizenship.

As I travel the globe, I can no longer genuinely claim to have local ‘community’ anywhere. (This is very much the downside of nomadic life, by the way; many have expressed their envy of me, to which I always reply, “Yes, I have adventure, and freedom – but it’s at the expense of stability, and community.”) Identifying solely with the global community can feel at times as if one has no community at all. I may engage, however, in one community for just a day if I’m there for a meaningful event, or in another for a month if I’ve a longer stay, or yet another for a few years if I’m in residence. I also maintain a relationship with and involvement in an international women’s advocacy organization with members in more than 100 countries, and meet with many of them along my way. None of these, it must be said, is my own community, however, in a sense of deep rootedness, and a shared life, through time. But I can engage as fully and as often as possible nonetheless, and for the ongoing development of my own global mindedness, I must.

Global citizenship seems trendy, but it isn’t a modern concept. As early as the 5^th century BCE, Socrates is reported to have said, “I am neither Athenian nor Greek but a citizen of the world.” Diogenes, a successor to Socrates born just a few years prior to the latter’s death, is to have said, “I am a citizen of the world” – in Greek, kosmopolitês – or, cosmopolitan.

There are many ways to develop one’s global consciousness. Generally, such steps are as follows: international awareness, appreciation for cultural diversity, a relevant skill set, and engagement. Let’s take this apart.

International awareness is a given. I’ve heard countless people, in a range of countries, complain that their local news outlets only focus on domestic stories and the occasional sensational international topic. This is commonly true – because this is what the average ‘consumer’ of news wants.

A majority of people, while they may care about the world outside of their borders in the broad sense, don’t have the desire to pursue what we mean by global citizenship; their interest remains primarily in their home country. This, while insular, is also natural; there’s only so much that our brains can take in, a limit to the compassion and empathy we can extend, no matter how interested we may be in the abstract. Even I, with a fairly broad experience of the world by now, often find it nearly overwhelming to continually extend my reach so widely. (I cope with this by maintaining one day of global – and Internet – blackout weekly as I immerse myself deeply in nature, and a longstanding daily practice of meditation and mindfulness that keeps me grounded in the present moment.)

To be internationally aware, we begin with world news – but we don’t stop there. We also must have some understanding of world systems, and world history. The news by itself is just stories; we need some comprehension of what lies beneath, not so much country-by-country but in terms of international and intersecting systems (political, economic, environmental, cultural) plus major world events through time. And of course: if you’re following any story in a particular country, you’d do well to gain a bit of information about that country’s background – and culture. If you’re not sure how to begin to develop an understanding of global systems, I suggest that you look at the course list of a university-level international studies program, which will provide a blueprint. (Many such lists can easily be found online.)

Above all: pay attention to what’s going on in the world. Read what you can, watch some documentaries, keep up with world news, take a world history course or two (if you’re out of school, find one online), follow significant international events. Get the big picture to the extent that you can. And remember: this is a lifelong quest that we’re on, not something we learn in a day and then presume to think that we’ve mastered.

Appreciation of cultural diversity is next, and a given; I imagine you already have such, or you wouldn’t be interested in a book such as this. Appreciation isn’t a static quality, though, but a dynamic one, that needs feeding and care; we begin with an overall respect of other cultures, followed by learning and experiencing whatever possible. This isn’t the same as cultural relativism, however (more on that later), by which we blithely accept all cultural aspects as valid for members of that culture; human rights abuses, for example, are to be universally rejected, regardless of whether it’s ‘that culture’s way’.

Gaining a relevant skill set will be addressed by much of what’s presented in this book. This refers to any transferrable skills relevant to global mindedness and cultural awareness. OECD identifies such skills as “reasoning with information, communication skills in intercultural contexts, perspective taking, conflict resolution skills, and adaptability.” Any steps we can take toward humanity’s wellbeing and sustainable development, based on our ever-increasing world awareness and including our appreciation of and interaction with members of other cultures, represent skills-in-action.

And – engagement. Don’t just learn; get involved. Meet and develop relationships with people of other cultures. Volunteer for an international cause. Donate money to international organizations doing good work. Become an online activist. (That’s much more than reposting.) Share what you know with your friends and family, classmates or colleagues, to help expand others’ global consciousness. We’re all in this together.

We might ask the question, though (and, without a doubt, many people you know will be asking you) – why does it matter? Isn’t it easier for us to remain in our own comfort zone, the culture into which we were born and know intimately, with blinders on to the rest of the world – rather than go to such effort to know, meet, and interact with the global community in order to consider ourselves a part of it? Isn’t it important to work on our own city’s and/or country’s challenges, and contribute to that greater good? Yes. It is far easier, and also important, to focus our efforts locally. And yet – humans of the world already share goals as well as challenges, right now the climate crisis in particular. Nationalism, focusing solely on one’s own country (which often includes a belief in its superiority over others – and excludes any questioning of its government’s actions), represents a very narrow and short-sighted vision, an isolationist standpoint that ultimately doesn’t even serve the country itself; greater international understanding and cooperation always leads to enhancement for each party, and a reduction in conflict. We can learn from one another for increased awareness as well as advantages; we can work together, with the power of many rather than one, for the sustainability of our shared planet. Global interaction and cooperation can ultimately lead to a shared definition of humanity and human rights, as well as responsibilities.

As to your personal benefit: by developing your global perspective, you can feel that you’re a part of something far greater than yourself: all of humanity. You can feel far more deeply rooted and interconnected with others than ever before, as you expand your self-identification out into the world. And there’s a practical potential for you as well: as you travel or engage in international actions and events, you’ll meet others and perhaps form lifelong connections; you may seek international employment or educational opportunities. And you may even get involved in some initiative that contributes to the greater good – of our global environment, of the human family.

It matters. It’s well worth the effort.

Exercises

Discussion or Contemplation: ‘Global mind’ – what is it, and why does it matter?

Writing or Recording: What are some of my core beliefs? How has this been influenced by my culture?

Further Reading: Developing a Global Mindset