Rock or Water

    

     What if you were about to travel where there was no father to watch you, no strict society to judge you, no gossipy mouth to annoy you, no snoopy eyes to chain you? What if you found yourself by your own? The only lines around you were only the ones you create. Would you be a rock or water?

     You are proud of your own ideas, and you are satisfied by what you already have in your culture. You carry the same principles wherever you go, and keep your perspectives untouched. You do your best to maintain your attitudes toward everything. You build high walls around yourself, so you keep yourself safe from being effected by your new surroundings. You say “NO!” to everything that seems alien to your principles. If you would do so, then you are a rock.

     On the other hand, you might think that you can be much more flexible by getting rid of every thread that links you to your home culture. You can be water, formed by the place your feet are on, and colored by the spot you breathe in. Your primary focus is to experience life as it is experienced where you are, rubbing out your own identity for a while just to fit in your new environment and to look cool in the eyes of others.

     Through my humble experience in the USA I noticed that fortunately most of us, as Arabs, are far away from being rocks. I see it as a good thing, because rock people are too conceited to learn new things. No one is perfect, and there are things to learn everywhere. People avoid rocks, as they are too dry to enjoy a smooth communication with. Because rocks show no tendency in learning from others, no one in return has the willingness to learn from them. Rocks don’t believe in the splendor of the differences among us. Seeing things from a narrow angle makes their perspectives incredible.   

     However, we shouldn’t go too far. Accepting others as they are does not mean to turn like them. Unfortunately, I’ve met in the USA a number, that can’t be neglected, of Arabs who were obviously doing their best to deface their cultural countenance. They showed how “water” they were in the way they looked, acted, and spoke. I view what they were doing as a very poor try to look cool, and it showed how shallow they were.

     A combination of both, water and rock, works well. As it is important from time to another to refresh perspectives and see things from different angles, it is important to maintain the essentials of our own religion and upbringing. We have to be open minded if we seek to improve ourselves as nations and individuals, but at the same time we must behave in a way that goes in tune with our basic beliefs to give the true image of our countries and religions. Accepting our differences shows us how similar we are. It enables tolerance, cordiality, and love to spread.

     There are many programs that offer the chance for my colleagues to go abroad. I hope all the best for everyone, as I want to emphasize that they are the outstanding ambassadors not only for Oman, but for the Muslim Arab world.   

By: Amira  Al Maawali