The world we live in is a vast and diverse place that cannot be summed up in a single word, sentence or paragraph. It has so many cultures and places with even more unique people filling them. Yet, somehow, all beauty is lost in the vast void that personifies our society. Our ability to help others when they need it most is incredible. However this is limited and insufficient compared to our ability to destroy each other in wars and crime. Our world tolerates each other, but only as much as necessary to survive. We don't get along in large groups, and the larger the groups, the bigger the problems become. The silver lining in all this is that even if we argue over trivial issues and dilemmas, our first priority is towards each other, because when the world is facing a crisis, the individual sects of the world can put aside part their differences and unite. This lesson showed me many things, but two lessons stand out to me the most. The first is that people are very different, and those differences can be the root of enormous amounts of conflict. The second is that these differences are exactly what make our lives worth living. If everyone were the same, there would be no real reason to go out into the world and explore or live for yourself. Each city is different from the previous one and each trip is unique. The world is almost infinite with so many different ways to live and a seemingly endless list of places where life can find a foothold. From the Asmat who live in the rainforests and swamps of New Guinea to the Azande who live in central Africa. People can live and adapt to virtually any environment, yet most people never travel to see any of these basic... middle of paper... all religions large and small and are the direct result of the fallibility of human beings in general. It's wonderful to think that many religions began in one place with a small group of followers and then branched out across the world. Taking root in almost every major country in the world with followers numbering in the millions or even billions with hundreds of different subcultures and subreligions within it. It would seem that as time passes and technology advances that connects our world together, we become a vast network of beliefs and traditions that anyone can pick up and continue. The study of religious origin and practice is fascinating, and as people are able to find virtually anything about any religion or the cultures surrounding it, hopefully more and more people will be able to understand and tolerate societies and people all over the world.