astallascliffs:

Um. This is my life. Right now. This. Yes? Yeah. Yes.

(Source: my-own-kind-of-happiness)

philipchircop:

CULTURE

“A fish only discovers its need for water when it is no longer in it. Our own culture is like water to a fish. We live and breathe through it.”  | Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner in  Riding the Waves of culture

Culture can be seen in many different ways. Below are four possibilities:

Culture as a web

“Man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun.”  | Max Weber.  Culture in this definition is something created by humankind, and at the same time something that defines humankind.

Culture as a layered ball

Culture in this definition is represented by a ball with three layers:

1. The outer layer 
   This is the observable reality of culture, that is the things we can see, feel, hear or touch. 
   Examples: language, food, architecture, fashion, art.
2. The middle layer 
   This layer consists of norms (a group’s mutual sense of right and wrong) and values (a group’s definition of good and bad).
3. The core 
   This layer consists of basic assumptions about existence and the relationship between the individual or group and nature. This includes the basic problem-solving processes.

Culture as an iceberg

Culture can also be described as an iceberg. Above the surface of the water are things we can see, hear, and feel. Examples are: arts, music, architecture, language. Below the water’s surface are the intangible elements of culture. These include beliefs, values, thought patterns, and myths.

The iceberg model highlights the importance of seeing the relationship between the tangible products of culture and their underlying intangible aspects.

Culture as text

Culture is also sometimes described as a text that can be read. This model is similar to the iceberg, as it takes the external, visible reality of culture as a starting point from which to discover its hidden and intangible elements.

Based on info found at Institute of Community Cohesion

TAKE IT FURTHER

• How would you describe or define culture?

• Can we say that we form culture and culture forms us?

• Is it possible for cultures to deform its people rather than form, reform and transform them? If the answer is yes, how so?

• What can we as citizens of planet earth do to promote a “culture of life” rather than allow ourselves to be sucked into and perhaps even perpetuate a “culture of death”?

• If you had to spend some time imagining you as an iceberg what would be “the tip of the iceberg” in your life and what would be the ingredients of “what lies beneath”?

(Source: abolishabortion)

(Source: craftychristianmamma)

(Source: mystandards)

(Source: craftychristianmamma)

signum-crucis:

We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong.
—G.K. Chesterton