{"id":280,"date":"2010-04-02T04:14:59","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T04:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brianmashburn.net\/?p=280"},"modified":"2010-04-02T04:14:59","modified_gmt":"2010-04-02T04:14:59","slug":"being-belonging-and-becoming-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brianmashburn.net\/?p=280","title":{"rendered":"Being, Belonging, and Becoming – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI don\u2019t belong anywhere.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 powerless when spoken as accusation or resignation, powerful when owned as a false perception or realization<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just the way I am.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 one of the saddest, most faithless phrases I\u2019ve ever heard<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cJust be.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 spoken my many, followed by none<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Ever since I wrote part one<\/a> of these three pieces, I\u2019ve been enjoying using these three words, in my own mind, more and more as an explanation of my life and love for others<\/font>\u2026being, belonging, and becoming. <\/font><\/p>\n

Perhaps there is more to my life and work than these three things, but if my life consisted of nothing else but these, and if my \u201cministry\u201d to others gave help on nothing more than these, I would be overwhelmed with satisfaction. I will restate here that I am fairly consumed with the work of what each one means, how to practice them, and where they interact. <\/font><\/p>\n

Belonging<\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is quite amazing to watch people and see what they will do in order to feel like they \u201cbelong\u201d. Perhaps in no one more dramatically than teenagers. I have seen students completely change their wardrobes just to belong. I have witnessed them allowing themselves to be used for sex just to belong. I have seen them scream \u201cI hate you\u201d to the folks that have sacrificially loved them most just to belong. I have seen them perform horrible cruelty to themselves and other living things just to belong. Much of what we do can be explained by this desire.<\/font><\/p>\n

Of course, it is not just teenagers. I have seen adults submit to the strangest religious practices just to belong. I have seen them compromise their values just to belong. I have seen them kill themselves making money just to belong. I have seen them lord it over their kids quite harshly just to belong. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cBelonging\u201d is something that people universally seem to be longing for (cheesy pun, there, I admit, but done quite accidentally, believe it or not. I noticed it on my proof-read!). <\/font><\/p>\n

This idea of belonging speaks to our relational nature. Think about it. Have you ever been able to experience yourself \u201cin relation\u201d to something or someone else? The famous and ancient Greek challenge to \u201cKnow Thyself\u201d can hardly be done without a context within which to do it, which demands that we find ourselves in the midst of or up against someone or something else.<\/font><\/p>\n

Most everything can be explained in people through the lens of their desire to belong in relationship\u2026<\/font><\/p>\n