In Another Time, a person knew they Belonged to their village. They were in reciprocity: they gave energy and they received energy back. They helped the pack survive to meet their needs of food and shelter and connection. But in this time, we don’t work together for our food or shelter, thus we’ve lost a primal sense of belonging. So we rely on a feeling, a euphoric bliss that comes with football or church or festivals, to know we belong. And that feeling guides us to activities that are costly and far from home and never quite hit the spot. Today's belonging consumes lots of resources and is superficial compared to Another Time. If we could walk outside our front door and feel deep belonging, we would consume less and heal social divides. Re-establishing the sense of belonging on our streets will solve our global crises.
Simple Ways of Belonging include:
Syncing our voices (yelling, singing, chanting together)
Moving our bodies (sports, dancing, performances)
Siting in silence (prayer, meditation)
Doing projects (murals, free store, tool library, local garden)
Hosting Rituals (celebrating seasons or birthdays, grieving)
These work because it’s easy to feel belonging, we’ve just forgotten the simple techniques. Many of us didn’t grow up with rituals or celebrations that remind us. Intuitively, we can feel belonging in many contexts because the qualities are the same no matter where you are.
Qualities of Belonging:
Giving and receiving your unique gifts
Harmony of acceptance and authenticity
Wanting more
Belonging results in ease and safety, some thing that is in short supply today. That’s the ultimate goal. Every human being should feel safe and accepted, regardless of the craziness of our economic or social conditions.
If you want to be a champion for belonging, learn the techniques to re-village your street, sign up to learn about the next Empowering Revolutionary Leaders Program! Happy Belonging.
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