finding yourself

Finding Real Belonging

Finding Real Belonging

Feel like you don’t belong in your family? In society? In the world?

Me too.

I used to think it was just me. That something was terribly wrong with me. I was flawed, broken because I felt disconnected. Everyone around me seemed content, loved, successful. They were all normal and happy. Why wasn’t I?

Then I convinced myself that there must be a place, an actual physical place, where I could feel all of that- where I genuinely belonged.

So I went looking. First I crossed the country, from Boston to Portland. Then I went to Asia- Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia. I even tried the Middle East and Europe.

I thought I’d found it in Bali, but no…

It took fifteen long years for me to clue in.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Wherever You Go, There You Are

I used to think that if I could just move somewhere else, everything would be better.

And believe me, I sure tried.

On average, I lived in a place for four years although sometimes my stays could be as short as a few months. I bounced around for years until I had my first child. Then, one of my friends finally scolded me. “You can’t keep moving, it’s bad for the baby.”

At first I ignored her. Infants cling to primary support not place but her words rang in my ears and I finally had to stop running.

Because that’s what I was doing. Running away from me.

I was convinced that each new place was the answer to my unhappiness. It wasn’t that the dissatisfaction was within me, NO! It was the pollution, the traffic, the unaware people, the lack of opportunities.

God forbid I actually take a look within.

I exchanged traffic for trees, noisy neighbors for none but I still always brought my emotional baggage with me; my procrastination, unresolved issues or negativity because, they were all a part of who I am.

I finally stopped long enough to look inside and began the work of healing.