Where do you belong?
Where
do you belong? Actually the more viable
question is DO you FEEL YOU BELONG? In
the world of psychology, “belonging” is a vital step in your personal
development. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
places love and belonging 3rd on the hierarchy right after basic
survival and security. Further Maslow
states that if you do not have love and belonging, you will not effectively (if
ever) develop to the next level of need which is self esteem. So you see, the question “do you feel you
belong” is a valid and very important question.
But
you say, “I don’t even understand THAT question!” Well, it all comes back to Individualism or
Collectivism. It comes down to “I” or
“We”. There is a self conscious, and
there is a collective conscious. One is tapped into by the ego; the other is
generally accessed by the spirit. When
we start doing things always from the “I” perspective, we cut ourselves off
from the “We” – we are considered “selfish”.
It is critical to belong and all our choices to a higher life depend on
the consideration of “we”. We are all
one in this life. We are all connected
in such an intimate way we often don’t even realize it. It’s like being with a lover. It’s not till they are gone that you feel the
emptiness. Without belonging, there is
emptiness.
I’m
not saying sacrifice your “I”. That’s
generally pretty hard to do anyway; the ego simply will not have it. You need to stand in your own power. Love yourself; feel that belonging, then you
will be able to love others. More
importantly, others will love you, and then you will truly belong.
Love
and
Bright blessings ~ Richard