“True belonging is a calling. It asks us to get messy, to walk into the fray, to soften into the hard edges of life instead of shying away. It asks us to dig into our own psyche and to discover our deepest fears and to meet our most vulnerable selves. We only really enter into life when we cast off the anchor, leave what is comfortable and familiar behind and sail into the unknown. Brené Brown discovered in her extensive research that there are four powerful elements of true belonging:
- People are hard to hate close up. Move in.
- Speak truth to bullshit. Be civil.
- Hold hands. With strangers.
- Strong Back. Soft Front. Wild Heart.
There is intense power in these words. And these four elements, she says, are a daily practice even while at the same time feeling like a paradox. Yet, imagine the world we could create if we all practiced true belonging and lived from these four elements?
We all belong to the human race. Once we can truly and deeply understand the words of the Indigenous elders when they say “the Earth is our mother and we are all brothers and sisters,” then we will belong in a way that we each yearn for, to ourselves, and to each other.”
Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston. She has spent 16 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is also the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong. Article by Azriel ReShel.
