You Belong Nowhere, You Belong Everywhere

You do not need to negotiate your belonging with the world.

In these 31 Days of October I am unpacking my learning from the book, Braving The Wilderness, by Brené Brown. She has been a favorite author for years. In this new publication she manages to build a sidewalk and curb in the wilderness where we can bravely tread.

My husband came up with the words, "she manages to build a sidewalk and curb in the wilderness". He is talking about the writing of Brené Brown, and he is spot on. The sidewalk she builds comes from vocabulary that defines but also encapsulates our common experiences. The curb along the sidewalk encourages us to fully travel wide but describes boundaries that make for a more civil journey.

     My seven year old granddaughter made the picture above for my birthday. I belong in my cute little house with children at my door. The easel hints at my creative life to which I aspire. The piano is my workspace and my solace. She gets me.

“Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.” —

I will continue writing my Nurturing Mondays and will be joining Five Minute Friday writers, as well.

Thanks for reading along.

If you want to go back and read click here. Two years ago I wrote for 31 days about Brené's other book Rising Strong. Read those posts here.