Just before this quote Brene writes: “the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us is so primal we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve moved through so many different communities in my life – especially in the world of yoga, so many different styles and belief systems. And I always found myself hanging back just a bit, not fully committing (which I made myself wrong for).
I now know that all the hanging back I’ve done from different communities over the years was due to the part of me that didn’t want to conform to a system of rules, beliefs and behaviours that were not quite whole, by their very nature were a part of the whole.
These days I’m happy hanging back a little, piecing together all that serves me from the communities I belong to and leaving the rest behind, in my own way creating my own wholeness.
Brene is so right when she says ‘true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world’ and I would add when we refuse to ‘fit in’.
Can you relate?
With great warmth
Heather
