Culture Within Our Homes

 

Not many of us think of our families when we consider culture. We think of our ethnicity, heritage, class, religion, geographical region, and community over all. But families have strong and distinct cultures, just like any of those previously mentioned, that are in some ways more influential on society and individuals. For most our families are our first experience with socialization and culture. We learn how to navigate life within our homes long before we learn how to do that in the world outside. Within our families we learn many traditions that become so ingrained into who we are that we often do not recognize them.

            You can begin to see this when you think of a time you spent with a friend’s family, even one living only a few houses down from your own. There may be topics that they do or don’t talk about that you could never imagine in your own. They may not say grace over their food when they sit down for dinner. Maybe your friend has to do a chore that your mom usually takes care of. The problem arises when we get where we are today. Most parents do not have a clear view of what they want the culture within their home to look like for their children. This can create very sudden and obvious issues such as conflict of expectation that leads to contention within the home. Or, what I believe we are seeing too much of, is a lack of intentional culture.

            This may not seem like an issue but culture plays a huge role in the success and nature of our families – especially our children. See, whether you do it intentionally or not, there will be a culture created in your home. It can be a positive or negative affect on the atmosphere within your home. Those within your home will carry that with them wherever they go, and I think we can all agree that we want our homes and families to be a place of refuge and love.

I have recently begun to consider this more deeply myself. What values do I want my children to have, and how do I want to implement those values into the way that we live. Although I do not yet have children, I think that this an important part of planning my future. I want my family to understand how our Savior is in every aspect of our lives. It may seem small but part of how I plan to accomplish that is with the décor in my future home. I want to surround my family in an environment that invites the spirit and reminds them who He is with imagery and art.

I also want my children to understand their heritage, I want to continue traditions that I grew up with and bring in new traditions that relate to ancestry. I think that this is a great way of connecting to those who you are descended from and your wider culture, while teaching that we all have unique backgrounds and that we should appreciate the differences that each of us has. I also hope that this will help them to feel most strongly connected with extended family.

These are just a couple of the ways that I hope to build culture in my family. Having a sense of culture in our homes can influence a desire for community and meaningful relationships. We are the ones who build and influence these ideas. There are so many ways that we can use our environment and intentional culture to mold ourselves into agents for good. When we become more intentional about these ideas, we will leave less room for negativity to enter into our lives. Still, none of us are perfect and there will be ways in which we are lacking but that does not give us a reason to not try.

Please feel free to comment, so that we can spark conversation!