It doesn’t matter where your from, how many places you’ve been, how many people you’ve talked to, how much you’ve read or what you presume to know. You live in a bubble. You see the world through your experiences and your own shoes.
We can do our best to expand our bubble, to connect with other bubbles and make a channel of understanding between bubbles. We can visit other bubbles and even merge bubbles, but even then, we’ll just be in a bigger bubble.
Look at me, for example. I have lived in 3 vastly different countries and have immersed myself to the extent that I barely spoke any English for 5 or 6 years, read books in those languages, and even got so comfortable that people thought I was raised in those countries. I have friends from all over the world, rich and homeless and everything in between, of many different mindsets, people with totally different criteria and norms for how to live, positive and negative.
Still, my perspective is constantly shifting and I’m constantly forced to admit how limited my perspective is. As much as I understood Japanese culture in the 6 years I spent totally immersed, I left for 6 years and came back and realize how little I knew. My perspective was only that of a male, of my age, of the areas I spent time, and my own beliefs about what I saw.
When I came back I realized that with a new and more outgoing version of myself, Japan was much friendlier than it ever had been when I was shy and reserved. I also realized that in 6 years so much has changed and there was a whole new generation I knew nothing about, and the older generations had changed adapted to being older generations, and to a changing world. People used to be so surprised when I spoke Japanese but not anymore.
My first time in a so-called developing country was eye opening. I was shocked at how well people ate. In my home country news articles were written mentioning the $200 USD average salary. I hadn’t realize that an apartment cost about US$40 or how cheap vegetables were. It’s not to say everyone was living like kings, there were a lot of people with difficult situations, but overall it was so much different than I had imagined.
I used to think a rich friend had it easy. That’s until I realized how much more pressure he had, not only more pressure at work but more social pressure as well. He had to be careful about what he posted on social media, what he wore, what he said in a group of people. He could lose his job and means of making so much money if he was not careful. And I was shocked when I found out how much he paid in taxes every year.
No the main stream sources of information and entertainment are becoming more and more diversified or decentralized, and there’s no one source that people go to, there are even more bubbles to explore. recently I find myself fascinated in analyzing the difference between the personality types and lifestyles of subscribers to different television services. In Japan, it seems as if Amazon prime users are all relatively traditional, overworked and not very interested in expanding their world. Netflix subscribers, on the other hand, seem to be much more progressive, exploratory, adventurous. This is, of course, a generalization but I’m definitely noticing a pattern. Like other generalizations I won’t apply to all people, but there’s something interesting going on.
I remember a few years ago, going to a friends house. He was a music producer and he wanted to get my vocals for a track. After we recorded a little bit, he lit a joint, and turned on some PlayStation game. It was a fighting game. I kept losing. I told him that I hadn’t played any video games in about 12 years. His mouth was wide open: “WHAT DO YOU DO!?!”. He couldn’t believe that I didn’t play video games, because in his bubble that was just the norm for someone his age with his particular interests.
Bubbles bubbles everywhere.
This is not a bad thing. We are all here to experience unique lives. We have so much to enjoy. We are lucky to live in bubbles because the process of expanding your bubble (or your horizons or your world or perspective, as they say) is so fun and rewarding.
I think a lot of the arguments and drama out there comes from the fact that people aren’t aware or informed about other peoples bubbles. They somehow think that everyone belongs to their bubble, or perhaps that everyone should belong to their Bible. They assumed it was right and wrong for someone else is the same as what’s right and wrong for them. But they’re right and wrong may not make much sense in a different bubble with different kinds of experiences. This is where all the arguments on the Internet seem to come from. This is what makes people more and more polarized.
I think the best thing that we can do in this world is to explore and try to understand other peoples bubbles. That’s how we come up with better solutions to problems, and how we begin to love our neighbors even if they are different from us. It’s also how we start trusting each other and creating healthier environments.
Tell me about your bubble, or a time where you found yourself in a new and unfamiliar bubble.
And if you want to explore new bubbles, join us in the Hive Cross Culture community where we share our perspectives and our bubble experiences with people from around the world.
I see bubbles everywhere!
Check out @wizardzmusic popping them bubbles:
POPPIN THEM BUBBLES (Bass Music)
⚪️
Bubble - Bible
I like that one!
And I like your bubble theory overall.
Would be nice if a Bubble telescope would be invented, aside from the already existing Hubble ts. I would sure like to look through its ever changing lenses.
I could really feel the flow of your writing here. Nice one!
The Hubble bubble is in trouble, we have to save it on the double. Pack your bags and bring a shovel, wash your ass and shave that stubble!
hahaha! I love your spontaneous rap lyrics!
I think you can still change careers or go or for a li'l rapping streak. Might be successful.
Feel free to use the name Li'l Hyper:
Not sure if you've seen the post about this velocirappor, last February:
A Velocirapper called Li'l Hyper - creativity, spirituality and the hero's journey
Is that me!?
Probably a hybrid of you and I ;<)
Great article isn't it all technically a great big stereotyping bubble in essence that everyone floats around in with all the other bubbles within it lol.
Sure but it’s not all stereotyping. Culture is essentially a bubble unless your culture is to explore other cultures
Bubbles aka comfort zones? :D
There's bubbles and there's bubbles. I don't like the ones that Google and its ilk were doing where they were returning things to reinforce people's existing world views and deliberately excluding anything else because people like having their narrow minded world views reinforced.
I think my bubble is one of those mutant multibubble monstrosities that come out of either bubble wands or when you're trying to breathe slowly and gently to make a big bubble but the soap and the air have other ideas. And I'm probably not even in the main bubble most of the time XD
Mutated or not, perhaps angry at times, I think your bubble must be pretty cute but I'll pop it anyway just because I like the sound of bubbles popping.
POP
NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU XD
Wooooooaaaah
Mutant multi bubble sounds healthy! It would work for me except I’m constantly changing my environment so I need a mutant multi multi bubble multi bubble!
That's how mutant multibubbles work :D