The beauty of embracing culture.

The beauty of embracing culture.

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The other day I was visiting Baños town in Ecuador, and was reminded of the beauty of embracing culture. Even if we don’t share the same religious beliefs, we can find similarities as humans lives there existence. We went to the Virgen de Agua Santa Sanctuary with a local, it was the week of the celebration for this virgen. It has a unique story, with people some Catholic believers say that the Virgin Mary appeared nearby a waterfall.

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The water well was filled with rose petals, they were offerings from the day before. Even though I’m not catholic, I was encourage by our local friend to drink from the water that came straight from the waterfall next to te volcán, “it will bless you” he said. And so we did, we drank the water, he drank the water too, and suddenly, just with that second, I felt this connection to him and his culture in a very special way. At the end we are all humans, living each day in hope of a better day.

Next to the water well is a stone, that says: Agua Santa Mother, bless us with your water, purified of of any evil, and strengthen our family and christian life.

It doesn’t take much to make a connection if we are open to embrace other cultures.

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