Wilderness of Belonging

Belonging so fully to yourself that you’re willing to stand alone is a wilderness — an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching - Brene Brown

We all want a place to belong,
and people to belong to.

It can be such a tender, beautiful thing.
Especially if you’ve ever felt a little out of place.

But belonging can be a mixed bag.

We find ourselves:
 laughing when we thought we were sad.
 feeling safe unexpectedly.
 being hopeful after many dark nights.

But we can also find ourselves:
 giving without receiving.
 supporting without being supported.
 seeing without being seen.

Sometimes the cost of belonging
is a little piece of ourselves.

Sometimes it means shrinking into a role,
instead of being the messy, complicated hearts we are.

We all carry rich pasts.
Bruised in places, but still beautiful.
We hold dreams that stretch forward,
and memories that still echo.

We are so much bigger than a role.
You know that, right?

The real you deserves:
 to be heard.
 to be supported.
 to be seen.

Still, we say yes to our roles because we crave connection.
We crave something that makes life a little more bearable.

But if the cost is your voice, your needs, your wholeness…
It’s too much.

Belonging should never require self-abandonment.
The most important place you’ll ever belong to is yourself.

When you do, you stop auditioning for love.
You stop compromising your needs.

You start breathing deeper.
You start telling the truth.

And isn’t that what we’ve been looking for all along?
Not just a place to fit in,
but a place to be whole?

It’s ok to step away from what other people need.
It’s okay to choose yourself.

That isn’t betrayal,
it’s the quiet art of becoming.

Writing Prompt:

Think of a time you tried to belong by playing a role. What part of yourself got left behind? And what might it look like to come home to that part now?