Belonging

It's been a busy week, as I'm leaving tomorrow to visit an old friend who lives in Chicago. I haven't seen her in over 10 years, and am really looking forward to the getaway...

But I've thought a lot this week about my house, and the possibility that I'll be having to sell it soon, and how for the first time--here--I've felt a sense of belonging. Maybe that's just something that happens in an old house, the energy of the ages is present, and you're adding your presence to that, and when they finally become one, you realize you are now--forever--a part of this place's history. No matter if I stay or leave, a part of me and mine will be imprinted on this place for all time. That makes me really happy, to know that I'm now part of the 'Jameson' history.

I wonder though, why 'belonging' is so important to us, almost from our very beginnings? We want to belong to our parents, to those who love us, to our peer group, to our family, to our social network, etc, etc, etc? We want to believe we are a part of something greater...of God, the Universe, time itself. And so we are...and yet, nothing of this Earth lasts, which is the part that frightens us. To let go, to feel unloved, to release attachment to everything, physical, emotional, to find what...what is beyond all this?

For some it is God, heaven, eternity, to others it is nothing. Is there a right or a wrong? Is there, as my friend suggests, truly a 'Camelot,' that perfect place where it never rains and all is peace? Is the hope of that what keeps us going? I love what Geoffrey Rush's character says in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, 'It's a mystery.' For indeed, it IS a mystery. My greatest wish is that, in the end, we all discover we're right in whatever we chose to believe...but most especially, that we all come to know we 'belong' to something greater.