I / You / We Belong Here

“You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars,

you have a right to be here.”

— Max Ehrmann, The Desiderata (1927)

Whether we feel we belong or not, the fact is we do belong.

By the fact of the bodies that encase our souls—that have been brought through that miracle of conception and formation—we belong here.

But we may, of a sense, struggle with the notion that we truly belong. Despite copious reminders that are in and about life constantly, we may somehow prefer to believe we don’t belong; whether in our families, in our workplaces, in our communities, or in our churches.

Such a thing as not belonging is a lie hatched by the enemy of God into the psyche of the doubting Thomases within us. We all experience similar doubts. And at the extremes we give our lives away in the worst possible way.

I Belong Here

I, like you, have had many experiences of belonging and not belonging. Not belonging has sucked the life out of me, but feeling like I have belonged has given me life.

But by the fact of God, and by his will to create me, I belong here.

You Belong Here

You, too, belong here. I marvel at what it must be like to be you; to be so different within yourself, in your thinking and feeling and acting, but ever so the same in so many ways to me. We are more the same than different, yet how different are we!

If I belong here, you belong here. Just as much you belong as I belong.

But this is a thing we must believe within ourselves; a thing we must own, for no one else can own it for us.

We Belong Here

We are a community: humankind. We are 7 billion strong. We are in the same vision for life: safety and mutual beneficence. We are also patriots of our country—our sense of place—even down to the cities, towns, and villages we live in. We defend our families, because we know they belong here.

We belong here. For this time and in this age, though it seems so chaotic, we are right where we belong.

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If there is any sense within us that is fearful it may be rooted in the idea that somehow we don’t belong. Belonging has power, and it is beautiful in its time; to know we are loved for who we are, and not so much for what we do.

© 2013 S. J. Wickham.