belonging across

Feb 19

Dear Reader,

We've spoken about belonging before, and today we want to expand on that idea. Belonging, we believe, is anything but singular. What if it isn't meant to be contained in just one space? What if we are designed to belong to many things at once, with each one holding a different part of who we are?

The truth is, no single community can meet all of our needs or reflect every facet of our identity. We are complex, multidimensional beings, and different contexts call forward different aspects of ourselves. You might belong to your family in one way, to your work community in another, to your creative circle in yet another. Each space offers something distinct, and each one asks something different of you.

This kind of belonging requires us to let go of the expectation that one group should be everything. It invites us to recognize that the colleague who understands your professional ambitions may not be the same person who gets your spiritual questions. The friend who shares your love of adventure may not be the one you turn to in grief. And that's okay. Belonging across multiple spaces doesn't dilute our connections, it enriches them. It allows us to show up more fully because we're not asking any one relationship or community to carry the weight of our entire need for connection.

There's also a kind of belonging that exists beyond people and places. We can belong to values, to practices, to ways of moving through the world. You might belong to honesty, to creativity, to the quiet rhythm of early mornings. These belongings anchor us even when our external circumstances shift. They remind us that home isn't just a location or a group, it's also a way of being that we carry with us.

Yours in the journey,