Why do we believe what we believe

It was six in the evening and I was coming back from office. I was walking on the street, not conscious of my surroundings when suddenly I heard someone,
“Hey there!” the voice said.
I looked back and saw a woman with a register in her hand beaming at me.
“Where are you from?” “Delhi”.
“What’s your name?” “Parul” I replied, now feeling a little uneasy answering a question posed by this unknown woman.
“Why are you asking” the conversation becoming increasingly awkward.
“There is an event this Sunday in the Church next to this road, and I am going to invite you, it’s about Life, here is the invitation card”
“I can’t come, sorry” I ended the conversation.
I turned and again started walking on the street.
“That was bizarre”, I contemplated, not because someone who I didn’t know invited me to some event, but how without giving a second thought, I just turned down the invitation. It was as if “NO” is a preselected option adopted by my brain whenever it hears the word STRANGER.
I figured, it couldn’t have been because of social anxiety as I am usually perceived to be a confident person. So why did I do that?
And suddenly all the phrases that I heard in my childhood started brazing in my mind.
“If you cut your hair on some days something bad will happen”
“Do not shake your legs”
“A black cat crossed your way, something bad will happen”
“Do not sweep the floor in the night”
“DO NOT TALK TO STRANGERS”
“DO NOT TRUST PEOPLE”
It was a startling realization.
And I suddenly recalled “Strangers, the unknowns, are the reason bad things happen!”
The emotion of fear is hard-wired in all of us since childhood. And subconsciously, it has influenced how we behave and lead our lives.
May be our parents were worried that we were vulnerable and unable to protect ourselves, so they inhabited these fears in our minds. But the question is:
“Are these fears really mine?” The obvious answer is NO!
According to a research, humans have abilities that contribute to learning fears through social observations.
Fear of strangers is what we inculcate. Let me ask you this question. When was the last time, you went for a walk and made a new friend? Do you even know your neighbors?
When was the last time you smiled at a stranger?
May be the girl on the street would have turned into a great friend, but I missed that “lucky” chance.
Are people really that bad?
Am I missing out on a lot by closing myself off to new people?
Is every random stranger on the street there to kidnap me?
These questions are worth reflecting over!
“You are only a stranger once, the more you talk to, and the fewer there are”