Unity Through the Family in Practice

The family is something that many of us have. Families share a lot of similarities. They also share many differences. With so many families living in many different parts of the world, there are bound to be connections between multiple families.

 

Families, all around the world, live in very different circumstances. The general public will tend to divide these two different circumstances with the terms of high class and low class. What determines the position of a family within these terms? The amount of education received, the career path taken, dress and grooming, living conditions, home, and especially economic income are all factors that the public determines where a family places between these two terms.

 

Let me go on to say that one division is not necessarily better than the other. Both terms include their own personal benefits and issues that must not be compared.

 

What should be discussed is how families are able to bond with each other, regarding the issues they may face. For example, I know several families in the country of Guatemala who tend to share housing with one another. This was most likely the solution for a number of issues (such as the unavailability or pricing of housing and land). These connections are usually made between a family member or two. Seeing such large families in one household shares, to me, a strong bond that the families have between one another, They share their food, hold activities with one another, work together, and much more.

 

A family can create a culture within themselves. Elements of their culture are generally passed throughout generations of the family. These elements, to those of other cultures, can be determined to be acceptable or unacceptable. Nevertheless, these elements of the culture are what runs in the family. They determine the behavior, actions, and more of the family. In connection to the previous post, unspoken rules can define the culture within the family. A family, for example, can establish the unspoken rule that all members of the family must halt what they are doing in order to greet those who visit the home. Spoken rules also take part into the culture of a family. The family may establish the rule of cleaning up after yourself once done with eating at the table. These rules, alongside any consequences established, do assist in establishing the culture of a family.

 

When a child goes on to raise their own family, they can choose to which aspects of their culture to keep and which aspects they wish to stray away from. Because both members of the couple are generally raised by different families, they have also grown into different cultures. Just like with all cultures, there are many elements that are very similar to one another and other elements that are different from one another.

 

In my opinion, I believe both members of the couple should revise the elements of their culture together. They should strive to seek those elements that they share. They should discuss the effectiveness of the element. They should seek whether it has caused any potential harm, both in the short term and the long term. After discussion, they should finalize which elements they wish to keep and which elements they wish to discard from.

 

Families are all unique. However, it is quite interesting to find that many families can also relate and share similar elements, issues, and experiences. I hope that every family is able to build a relationship that brings them together throughout any tough times. I hope to see positive family cultures and traditions that bring the family closer to unity.