In my twenties, I served in the UK Special Forces across different countries. My reasons for serving are not for here. The fact is I did, and without that experience, I would never have learned firsthand how, with the right common ground, it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, barriers that we inevitably put up in our lives out of fear are quickly dismantled and connections made even in the most unlikely situations.Most often or not, in my case, that common ground I mentioned was the need or desire to trade. The simple act of wanting to buy something from someone who wants to sell what they have made is our communities and humanity's foundations.But what we see with the digital revolution is the dehumanising of trade, where we no longer connect through what we buy as it's displaced with mass-produced, impersonal experiences. And in doing so, we are losing the common ground that brings us together, where prejudices, bigotry and narrow-mindedness would not usually be allowed to take root.That's why xplore is creating a local world where we can come together and trade on common ground with people who, like you, yearn for human connection, where quality and passion are as important as making a profit. Through them, we get to experience different cultures and opinions, which as Mark Twain stated, 'Is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.'So as I look back on my days buying bread from a baker in Lashka-Gah in Afghanistan to coffee beans from the bizarre in Baghdad, I had no idea how those experiences connecting me with different people and their stories would come to be the core idea behind xplore.We all come from vastly different backgrounds, cultures and places. And yet, no matter how much seems to separate us, when we are allowed to meet and trade on common ground, our desire to experience, connect and understand one another as human beings are too strong for us to ignore.So together, we can create a local world where our communities and local businesses play a significant part in our lives, where we can connect on common ground, and where no matter where technology takes us, it's our communities where humanity thrives.