Have you ever walked into a room full of people?
And yet still felt completely alone.
It's an interesting thing,
Isn't it?
We can be surrounded by people yet feel disconnected from everyone around us.
I think sometimes we imagine that belonging means finding the right people.
People who share our beliefs,
Our interests.
Or our way of even looking at the world.
And certainly there's probably comfort in that.
I've come to believe that belonging isn't about finding people who are just like us.
It's about making room for people who aren't.
A while back I came across an expression that left a big impact on me.
People experience the world differently.
And it sounds so obvious,
Right?
I mean,
But think about it.
We have.
.
.
Two people can walk into a room and experience an entirely different situation,
The same event,
The same conversation.
The same stimulus,
Yet they walk away with a different experience.
I mean,
Our race,
Our sexual orientation,
Our beliefs,
Our life experiences all shape how we see and experience the world around us.
And the truth is none of us really knows what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes.
We don't know the challenges they faced.
Fears they've carried.
The generational history that comes with being who they are.
Or even the courage that it takes sometimes to simply be themselves.
But here's something I've come to believe.
We don't have to fully understand someone's experience to respect it.
And perhaps that's where belonging begins.
Not in expecting everyone to see the world as we do.
But making room for the possibility that they don't.
And listening without judgment.
And offering kindness without conditions.
And remembering that every person we encounter carries their own story that we may never know.
Because in the end,
Belonging isn't just about finding a place where we're accepted.
It's about helping create a world.
Where others feel accepted too.
