The Dangers of Belonging…
Yesterday, a student told me, “I have never met anyone who worries so much.” WHAT?!? ME? WORRY?!? I spend so much of my time and energy and efforts LOOKING calm, cool, and collected… why would you say such a thing? But the thing is… he IS RIGHT! I TRY my best to “look” calm and composed on the surface, but underneath the facade there is most often chaos and turmoil. I worry! A lot! I definitely WORRY A LOT!
At the moment, I am spending a lot of my time worrying about US… as a GROUP… of INDIVIDUALS…
From the very beginning, human beings have NEEDED to be part of a group… this “belonging” was, and continues to be, ESSENTIAL for survival and continuation. There are SO MANY BENEFITS to this “belonging”… I have no desire to argue against being a member in a group, especially if this membership is beneficial. What I AM worried about these days is that I see so many people who are prioritizing being a “member” of a group that they are literally foregoing their rights and abilities to be a fully-functioning, self-realized individual… with their own thoughts… their own desires… their own pursuits… their own path in this life.
Yes, at one point in the history of this world, it was ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to be a member of a group… simply to survive. There really was not a choice. That is NOT the case in the world we live in today. We can pick and choose… and I simply think it is something worth thinking about… what “groups” am I a part of… and do they ACTUALLY benefit me as an individual?