“You are a child
of the universe,
no less than the
trees and the stars,
you have a right
to be here.”
— Max Ehrmann, The
Desiderata (1927)
Whether we feel we belong or not,
the fact is we do belong.
By the fact of the bodies that encase
our souls—that have been brought through that miracle of conception and
formation—we belong here.
But we may, of a sense, struggle
with the notion that we truly belong. Despite copious reminders that are in and about life
constantly, we may somehow prefer to believe we don’t belong; whether in our
families, in our workplaces, in our communities, or in our churches.
Such a thing as not belonging is a
lie hatched by the enemy of God into the psyche of the doubting Thomases within
us. We all experience similar doubts. And at the extremes we give our lives
away in the worst possible way.
I Belong Here
I, like you, have had many
experiences of belonging and not belonging. Not belonging has sucked the life
out of me, but feeling like I have belonged has given me life.
But by the fact of God, and by his
will to create me, I belong here.
You Belong Here
You, too, belong here. I marvel at
what it must be like to be you; to be so different within yourself, in your
thinking and feeling and acting, but ever so the same in so many ways to me. We
are more the same than different, yet how different are we!
If I belong here, you belong here.
Just as much you belong as I belong.
But this is a thing we must
believe within ourselves; a thing we must own, for no one else can own it for
us.
We Belong Here
We are a community: humankind. We
are 7 billion strong. We are in the same vision for life: safety and mutual beneficence.
We are also patriots of our country—our sense of place—even down to the cities,
towns, and villages we live in. We defend our families, because we know they
belong here.
We belong here. For this time and
in this age, though it seems so chaotic, we are right where we belong.
***
If there is any sense within us
that is fearful it may be rooted in the idea that somehow we don’t belong.
Belonging has power, and it is beautiful in its time; to know we are loved for
who we are, and not so much for what we do.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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