“Hey, we’re making music twice as good.
By playing what we’ve got!”
~ Shel Silverstein, Ourchestra, Where the Sidewalk Ends (p. 23)
In this century we are all connected somehow, and for many of us, those connections are everything. We can’t seem to get away from the pull of needing to belong.
I can be, from time to time, on that hamster wheel of keeping up. Doing all of the surveys so I’d have something to say about it when asked, binge watching all of the shows, signing up for the deals and the offers, liking, posting, seeing who was liking me, replying and sending to 10 friends, donating to birthday causes, participating in group studies, circles, offering to sponsor events, adding my name to a cause because I knew most of the others who signed.
I find myself making sure I am seen, liked, and ‘shared’. I want to have what it takes to really belong in all situations and scenarios. But, if I can’t remember why I am ‘there’ in the first place then what is the purpose? If I don’t have the why, I need to let go, sit back down, and wait until I have it again. Then I can stand up and move forward.
The simple truth is – it doesn’t take all of these social connections to be centered. We belong to our soul, our journey, only our space. We need to center ourselves in what gives us balance and peace and direction. Once we’ve found those, we belong.
~Lydia Patrick
Oh my; i need to sit with this one for a bit
It’s a true paradox. Letting go of a life that is defined by the context of social standing, and living the expectations of “others”, signing up, signing on, creating your presence inside the circle as well as outside. Letting these parameters dissolve so our person can be distilled. The paradox is knowing what is at our essence, without all the contextual stuff that wants to define us. I think this must get easier with age, when we are distilled and our core doesn’t need all those props.
Thank you for reminding me that I have control of the things to which I pay attention. I often feel so overwhelmed just checking my email each day because I want to respond to every request, social justice issue, and event/workshop for which I receive an invitation. As I age, I realize I cannot do it all. Centering myself to only those things I can handle at one time is more important than ever, even if it means belonging to less groups.