What Is Belonging?
WHAT IS BELONGING?
Belonging means to feel a sense of welcome and acceptance to someone or something. Belonging is a need that we naturally seek as a human in order to feel loved. In the same manner as our identities, there are many forms of belonging. If we fail to find a sense of belonging, isolation and depression often occur. However, there are those who do not belong but in fact are liberated by their independence. This may be due to their desire to rebel from family tradition, friends' expectations, or work commitments and therefore, are pleased to be set-apart from other people.
Belonging is an inherent human condition in which we strive for acceptance and security through others. A sense of belonging is vital for our survival and existence, as belonging reinforces our self-confidence and protects us from rejection. People group together to protect themselves from torment and in justice but in doing so, others are effectively rejected and alienated. To belong or not belong can be based on the perception of one's self or of others. People belong if they have similar interests, values, heritage, place, points of view, socio-economic status and culture. People who do not fit these subtle but strict criteria can become excluded, but the standard is not fixed allowing for opportunity to belong elsewhere. It is therefore, not possible to completely not belong based on an individual's choice. People can decide not to belong to groups that they typically would not fit into, as they might find the choice to exclude that group more alluring them than actually joining them.
As people change and grow we start to develop our own set of values and codes to which we conform. These values are developed throughout early childhood and into adulthood through personal affiliations and experiences with the groups belong to and get rejected by. This basic philosophy is first affected by family and cultural groups that a person is born into. We learn to judge and
Belonging means to feel a sense of welcome and acceptance to someone or something. Belonging is a need that we naturally seek as a human in order to feel loved. In the same manner as our identities, there are many forms of belonging. If we fail to find a sense of belonging, isolation and depression often occur. However, there are those who do not belong but in fact are liberated by their independence. This may be due to their desire to rebel from family tradition, friends' expectations, or work commitments and therefore, are pleased to be set-apart from other people.
Belonging is an inherent human condition in which we strive for acceptance and security through others. A sense of belonging is vital for our survival and existence, as belonging reinforces our self-confidence and protects us from rejection. People group together to protect themselves from torment and in justice but in doing so, others are effectively rejected and alienated. To belong or not belong can be based on the perception of one's self or of others. People belong if they have similar interests, values, heritage, place, points of view, socio-economic status and culture. People who do not fit these subtle but strict criteria can become excluded, but the standard is not fixed allowing for opportunity to belong elsewhere. It is therefore, not possible to completely not belong based on an individual's choice. People can decide not to belong to groups that they typically would not fit into, as they might find the choice to exclude that group more alluring them than actually joining them.
As people change and grow we start to develop our own set of values and codes to which we conform. These values are developed throughout early childhood and into adulthood through personal affiliations and experiences with the groups belong to and get rejected by. This basic philosophy is first affected by family and cultural groups that a person is born into. We learn to judge and