We are in “a deeply fragmented culture…It seems that we are in a huge crisis of belonging.” – John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes, (Introduction p. xxiv-xxv).
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Belonging grows out of a shared set of stories. It is nurtured when we create the space for shared story to develop.
For shared story to grow, we must adventure together. As children, we may have had great adventures in our backyard or in the neighborhood with friends. When a group of college friends pile into the car and go on “a road trip” together, they create a little adventure for themselves. Funny things happen. Problems arise. Surprises pop up. Story germinates. And the stories may grow stronger over the years becoming part of the old growth forest that old friends revisit together decades later.
Where is adventure now in your life? You need not travel around the globe or across the country on a foray. Why not call a friend and go for a walk through an interesting part of town next week – maybe a neighborhood that you haven’t been to for years or some place you have never visited? Explore. Laugh together. Feel a little tingle of playfulness as you create shared story.
Father Edward Hays says that if we want to nurture our friendships, we must commit the “mortal sin of the assembly line,” we must “waste time” together. Buddhists speak of the value and importance of aimlessness – nowhere to go, nothing to do, no task to accomplish. Such perspective is blasphemy in a culture with an unwavering focus on achievement and accomplishment…in this culture of fragmentation, with a huge crisis of belonging.
What are you really here to achieve and accomplish? What value do you place on friendship? Do you currently feel a sense of genuine belonging? Have you felt it in the past? Might a little trek with an acquaintance or some friends foster connection and water the seeds of shared story?
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Belonging grows out of a shared set of stories. We experience. We reflect. We reminisce. We retell. We playfully argue over the details of “what really happened.” Contact a friend or family member and suggest a little shared mini-adventure for some afternoon or evening later this month. Why not? Shared stories are often little reflections of lived life. Living life, being present to the little moments together, cracks the soil for shared story to germinate and grow. Be present to those with whom you share the little journeys and be present to the stories which emerge. The bonds of belonging grow stickier with each shared story expressed and enjoyed.
(Music: Courtesy of Adrian Von Ziegler, “Sacred Earth.” )