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Hello. I'm a white guy, born and raised in the USA, baptized and confirmed Catholic, however I never really could accept what Catholicism/Christianity teaches. I always felt like I was reaching for something "out there" to understand know God. I've read about/researched other faiths, such as Wicca, Islam, Hinduism, other secs of Christianity, and for a while I studied Buddhism. But again, these always left me wanting more. They spoke about God, "The Divine", creator, etc, but they always spoke of different ways to identify with God, spoke about all these rituals to get closer to God, but those things feel inadequate to me. Reading the Guru Granth Sahib pulls something deep inside of me. At least, for me, it explains God in terms that I'm able to understand and connect with, and Sikhism, from what I've read, shares the same moral/ethical/world views that I do. My only worry/concern is appropriating the culture of Sikhs. While I very much admire the ten Gurus and the immense struggle they and the people who lived during there time (and of course the struggle that Sikhs, and black/brown people and other people of color, still go through today), I will never be able to identify with that struggle because of my racial position in life, which I accept, but does that mean I'm not able to follow the words of the Gurus? I'm a solitary person, so I don't think I would go to Gurdwara, and I don't think I would ever be baptized/ take the 5 K's. I enjoy being a lay person, appreciating what the Guru Granth Sahib says, and experiencing/knowing God. I just want to have a relationship with God, and I know that means more than just reading from the Guru Granth Sahib, and I'm hoping with time I'll be able to do more with my faith. I guess I'm posting this to get an idea if there's any white people on this forum who are Sikh, or if any black/brown or other people of color on here have had experiences with white people in the Gurdwara and if those experiences were satisfactory or cringe worthy?

I study religions as I find they all have valuable lessons and during one of those periods I recognized that the bracelet a certain client of mine wears on his right wrist is a kara. I asked him if that was indeed what it was, and he said yes and told me the meaning of it. I told him that was what I heard it meant and that the idea of it is utterly beautiful to me, even though I am Christian. He said that Sikhs generally do not mind if others wear the kara respectfully and that the next time I saw him he would give me my own, which really touched me- he wears the really thick iron type In light of that, I was wondering what the best way to get familiar enough with Sikhism to honor his gesture. I'm not sure where to start with the scripture or if I should attend a temple service. Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated, everything I've heard of Sikhism has sounded wonderful, but I'd like to go deeper