"Same, Same... but Different"

The quote "same, same, but different" is used often in the country of thailand, and apparently other asian cultures as well. it took a good 6 weeks before i understood the meaning, but i now realize that this saying is perfect for many situations. throughout many discussions with my new friends here, it is evident that there are so many similarities between cultures, even with their differences. for instance, ricardo, clara, and i were discussing drug use in high school and in general. all three of us smoked pot for the majority of our senior year of high school, and the latter part of our teenage years. we shared crazy stories and reasons for our experimentation. and even though they were in spain, and i was in the US, it was the same... same, same, but different. what i loved most about this conversation was the agreement in conclusions about experimenting: that we learned a lot about ourselves and the world while intoxicated, and would never take it back, but that it eventually must be put aside so we can get on with our lives, and put that information to use. and we all agreed that it is because of this that we are all here in thailand now... drugs helped smooth the transition of our ego minds into a deeper realm of thinking and connection, but once the connection was made, the drugs were no longer needed. we all have stories of friends or loved ones who went "too far down the rabbit hole" and now are addicted to drugs, or are convinced that the only way to this connection is through them. but fortunately, we knew our limits, knew when the slope was too slippery, and most importantly, learned how to connect without them. and through this connection, now on a sober level, we were led to thailand to gain more wisdom and knowledge. some for various reason but either way... same, same, but different.
i have also listened to stories from my friends who grew up in countries where terror is the norm. ayala shared numerous situations growing up in israel where suicide bombers blew up before her eyes, killing many in their wake. joyce told me about her armed body guard in pakistan that protects her on the rare occasions she leaves her home. she jumped when a tuk-tuk backfired while passing us on the street and said, "oh! i thought it was another bomb! before i left for thailand my house shook when a suicide bomber tried to get through our front gate, and blew up when the security tried to stop him..." while the countries are different, the theme is the same... fear, oppression, and chaos... same, same, but different...
listening to their stories opened my eyes in more ways than i can explain. while i've always known these horrible things happen, and that i am fortunate i grew up in a country where they are at a minimum, meeting people that have lived through it strikes the nerve of appreciation and discust for the american culture. while we are fortunate not to live in these fears, it is amost just as damaging to keep us blindfolded to the reality of what is going on in the world. the people i have met while traveling are much wiser for their age than the typical american. they have a better grip on the world as a whole. americans have a grip on the next american idle and brittney spear's love life. the media, no doubtably truely controlled by the government, flashes glimpses of world events in the first 30 seconds of a news broadcast, before barrading us with consumer products... "war breaks out in the middle east, but first a word from our sponser... cover up those gray hairs with new l'oreal highlight 2 in 1 treatment..." like, yeah there is a whole bunch of really bad shit going on out there, but you are helpless to do anything about it so, make yourself feel better and buy my product... like zombies, the american society works and consumes, works and consumes... with very little knowledge or understanding of what is really going on.
a friend once asked me, "if ignorance is bliss, then i am i so damn curious?" my response, which i think relates to my previous statement was this, "ignorance lacks knowledge. curiosity seeks it. but sometimes truth can knock us off our cloud 9." so maybe not knowing the realities and complexities of the world can keep our head in the clouds, but the lack of knowledge keeps our feet from touching the ground. we grow lazy and unappreciative. we expect things to be given freely, and are always ready to blame everyone else but ourselves for our hardships. while i am not saying that we must engulf ourselves in world affairs, or focus on the many problems at hand, we must take it all in to gain perspective. when we are zoomed in it can feel like a tidal wave is crashing all around us... but when we zoom out, we see it is merely a tear drop rippiling in a puddle. we allow trivial notions and interactions to govern our responses to life, but we must step back and view everything as a whole. these things are a sliver of the pie. there is so much more to learn, to know, to feel, to be. if our society continues on its path to the biggest house, with the best car, and most toys, in the end our lives will all be... same, same, but different...