This month’s topic for our blog roll is When I Don’t Belong. I am tempted to link to the next woman’s blog and be done with it. Why? I have known about this topic for over a month and haven’t come up with a thing to write. It’s not because I have never felt like I didn’t belong. I have had felt this feeling often. Worse, I have made others feel they didn’t belong.
I strive to be as authentic as possible in my blog so I don’t want to BS anyone here. It’s not because I have it all together that I can’t write about belonging. I can’t even explain why I feel blocked by this topic. Instead of ditching the blog roll and bailing out, I decided to just let it be. I don’t know what to say about this topic. This is the real, honest truth.
What would you say about this topic? Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong? Do you feel that even now? Have you ever made others feel they didn’t belong? I think every one of us has had the feeling of not belonging OR making others feel this way, whether unintentionally or not.
What do we do with this?
If I could, I’d love to sit with each of you, sharing the pain and struggles. I believe many times we feel we don’t belong yet truthfully, we are not alone in these feelings. There is a camaraderie in desiring to belong, isn’t there? Why is it we want to belong so badly? What if we shared more openly with others about those desires? What would it look like for us to be fully known in this area of belonging? What courage would it require to confess when we’ve excluded others? Can you think of a person who has made you feel you don’t belong? Can you think of a person you’ve made feel didn’t belong? I am asking myself these questions.
As you can see, I don’t have all the answers but I want the freedom to sit with these questions, thoughts and feelings. Hopefully, you will afford yourself the freedom as well.
An amazing group of women are blogging about the same topic. I am anticipating some very real, authentic posts and I encourage you to scroll on through each blog.
Up next is Tracie, a remarkable woman who blogs about real life. Read her thoughts on belonging here.
meg on tap 
I love your honesty here, Meg. I love you. xx
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This was a hard topic. And I love the questions you bring up. I always love your questions because they often have me dig deeper. We all have stories to tell, each and everyone of us. “What if we shared more openly with others about those desires? ” what if? I think if we did the world as a whole would be a more compassionate place. Why do we so often hide our stories? It sure would be nice to sit with you friend. I'll always remember the day we laid on our backs in the park. I mean we were strangers but we just opened right up like we had known each other forever. It would be nice if so many relationships could go that way. You have a beautiful warmness about you.
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Authenticity is always beautiful, and I always love reading what you have to say! 🙂
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Megan, I so agree with you. Reading through this roll, I wish I could sit with every person. It's a tough thing to write about. I struggled with this one too. But, as always, you offer yourself openly and honestly. I so appreciate that!
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it is a such an interesting thing, belonging. to be known, valued, seen and heard …. i think these are core human qualities and values and we can all work harder, with awareness to bring the circle closer ….. thank you for what i now will think of as i go about my afternoon. xoxo
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My dearest Megan. If I didn't belong to you, my life would be so empty. I think you are the rawest person I know and I love every single vibrant nerve ending in your body. You make life so rich and real and wonderful. You will always belong with me.
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I really appreciate the questions you raised here Megan. “Have you ever made others feel they didn't belong?” ouch…but such an important angle of this topic that the rest of us missed. I think that could be its own entry…thanks for helping me see more clearly the times I've both created belonging and also made others an outsider…we need to be aware of both.
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