Today, many of us venture beyond our places of birth and away from our families, carving our lives on our own terms. As a result, we lose access to some of the ready-made forms of belonging that we might have had if we stayed closer to the nest. At the same time, ironically, life appears even more connected thanks to our constant digital companion, the smartphone, with is real-time updates from the diaspora we tap into through social media.

Maintaining real, deeply personal connections over time and space, however, is hard, and reaching out to make future friends out of strangers isn’t easy for all of us. In our ever-more globalized, mobile world, we risk winding up lonely and disconnected in new and challenging ways.

Retaining a deeper sense of belonging, no matter where we are, starts with feeling at home within ourselves. When we know and accept ourselves, we rely less on others to affirm our identity, which in turn allows us to shed some of the insecurities and fears that hold us back form connecting with others. From there we can plant small seeds of belonging, like saying hello to a stranger who looks like they could use a little acknowledgment, or sending a kind not to a colleague. Friendliness helps everyone feel they belong. you never know how those seeds might sprout, grow, and bloom.

~Elaine Smookler

and from the first moments of my birthday, I wake up in the garden to pay homage to the light, the wind, and the marvelous ways of the roses….

inquiry for today~ what sights will intrigue, and what residual light will be most becoming to your old soul……

how to be free-spirited

the present

As they were leaving the garden

one of the angels bent down to them and whispered

I am to give you this

as you are leaving the garden

I do not know what it is

or what it is for

what you will do with it

you will not be able to keep it

but you will not be able

to keep anything

yet they both reached at once

for the present

and when their hands met

they laughed

~W.S. Merwin