Belonging @ MindSay 
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Samantha Sweeting spent every waking moment for seven years trying to become a partner in her top notch legal firm. Twelve years before that was in preparation of becoming the best lawyer she could possibly be. One single mistake (that wasn't even made by her) changed her life in a split second. Mistakes in the legal world can obviously be costly. This one happened to cost her client 50 million pounds. Mistakes in her world were unacceptable, and so when the mistake came to light, she left without a single word - just walked out of the office and kept going until she landed on a stranger's doorstep. The strangers mistook her for a housekeeper an agency sent to them. Not having any answers of what to do about her life (especially after finding she was fired for her reaction to her own mistake), Samantha decided to make the best of the strangers' misunderstanding and remained as their housekeeper. The funny thing is Samantha can't boil eggs much less do a load of laundry. This top-notch lawyer ended up falling in love with the gardner and the charming country life she began to make for herself once she learned to slow down and smell the roses. She learned to cook and clean. Life drammatically changes for her and she just adores it.
Suddenly the legal firm realized that Samantha never made a mistake, that a senior partner set her up to take his fall should his financial scandal be found out. The firm fell over themselves to make it up to her and offered her an even better position in their ranks. She was torn between accepting the offer and remaining where she was. The gardner skipped town to make the decision easier for her. But halfway to London, Samantha leaves her partners on the train to find her way back to the love of her life even though she had no clue where to find him in Cornwall. All she knew was she would find him somehow.
Gods, I love this book. It's just absolutely wonderful.
"It doesn't matter. Don't beat yourself up for not knowing all the answers. You don't always have to know who you are. You don't have to have the big picture, or know where you're heading. Sometimes it's enough just to know what you're going to do next."
Soft sigh in relief. Lately I've been searching for all the answers and getting extremely upset whenever I'd come up empy-handed. I often thought about going to the local metaphysical store to have my tarot read so that I get some answers, but I haven't had the money to do so. Then I read these words and realized that it doesn't matter if I have all the answers. It really is enough just know what to do next. For instance, I know I need to find a part time job. That's what I need to do next. And it doesn't really matter what kind of job it is... I know I can do anything I put my mind to as long as I have Josh's support. I know I'm starting school next month. That's as far as I need to go... the only answers I really need.
When I found the picture of the campfire, it brought back a flood of memories, or close, intimate gatherings around a campfire. It got me thinking about community, acceptance, & belonging.
We have a basic human need for acceptance. It can be satisfied in a multitude of ways, but it must be met or the individual will suffer.
We can think of community in any number of ways, but my definition is very simply – the people we interact with routinely.
One example is our local Amish community. They live, work and worship together under a common and shared belief system that voluntarily binds them together for their mutual benefit. Their faith is woven through everything they do. Each member contributes to the whole, even children, and similarly, each member benefits. If one needs home repairs, the community gathers together at an appointed time and makes the necessary repairs – each member helping, from the youngest to the oldest. No effort is too minute to be appreciated or too grande to absorb all the attention over the others.
In our modern Western culture, this principle is no longer as evident as it once was, and it is missed. As humans, we need to feel accepted, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to contribute something to the whole. We each have natural & unique talents and abilities, but in today's society, many of these gifts are not generally appreciated, and yet we know that theoretically, the whole is only as valuable as the sum of its parts. If some of the “parts” are not considered valuable, then the whole will suffer. When we under-appreciate the gifts and abilities of others, we depreciate the value of the whole.
I realize this is a difficult concept, and that I am just slightly idealistic, but as an educator – parent – citizen who frequents “disadvantaged” neighborhoods, it simply breaks my heart to see so many people existing without hope. Hopelessness is a fruit of a breakdown in community.
Who says the bank president is more valuable to the community than the toilet scrubber? Who says attorneys are worth more to the whole than the farmer? Who says men are still a better investment than women? Who says different means one is better than the other? Is the singer less valuable than the painter? Both have a gift to share.
We each have a part to play, gifts to give, talents to share, skills to contribute to the whole to make ours a better place. Whether it is within a community of faith, business, or leisure, at some point, we have to get over ourselves and learn to appreciate one another for who we are – not who we want them to be, or who we think they should be – but who we are! Guess what? Avery baby born isn't a genius ... and that's OK!!! Competition has its place, but it should not cause us to value mathematicians over a skilled auto mechanic. Do you appreciate the gifts you have? How about the gifts of your kids, friends, or neighbors? We need more “atta-girls” and “atta-boys!” More positive life-giving words spoken to dispel the harsh negative ones. More words of acceptance to embrace our children in their world of cliques and judgment. Maybe, just maybe we can actually learn to appreciate our differences, hmmm? Maybe?
Rom 12: 3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
~ B
2 churches want me to attend them
1 thinks I'm going to hell
None of the sororities spoke to me about joining nor handed me any literature
The piercing shop thinks I need another hole in my body
The greens think I should be a vegetarian (I already am)
and I have dates with 3 frat boys this weekend.
(just kidding about the last).
You stand apart,
Alone you are,
Working on your masterpiece.
They laugh, they stare,
No one would dare
Invite you to hang out with them.
Look around, no where to go,
They get you down cause you just like to know.
You dress in hooded sweatshirts, hiding your face,
Yet with a head full of facts,
A real encyclopedia..
They're not blown away
With what you say,
But somone out there loves the way you look at things.
You just got to happy within yourself,
No use trying to be somebody else.
Everybody's just trying to find a place.
Where you belong..
Just looking for the place that you fit in.
You're too cool, too weird, it's always something.
Trying hard, but you can't seem to get there.
Where you belong..
So what if you're different?
It's what you is, not what you isn't.
Someday, it'll be so clear.
where do i belong? and does someone out there really love the way i look at things? or is my mind just a waste? help..
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