You are not an island. None of us are.
We are meant to be with people and to thrive together. By our nature we are Tribal creatures.
Caroline Myss once said, “You only rise as high as the tribe you’re in.” This correlates directly to one of my favorite Will Smith quotes: “You will see how far in life you’ll go with the 5 people you spend the most amount of time with.”
In my journey, coming from Kansas to Los Angeles (and being an only child), I’ve always been a loner. I didn’t feel like I belonged in Kansas. I didn’t resonate with most of the folks there. In coming to LA, it’s taken me almost 10 years to find my tribe.
When you’re surrounded by the right people, who believe what you believe and support your dreams, you can thrive.
But when you’re surrounded by people who don’t share your values or believe what you believe, or who are nay-sayers to your dreams, it can be extremely discouraging and lead to depression and dis-ease.
For me, I knew I didn’t belong in Kansas. I knew I belonged in LA. But it wasn’t about location.
It wasn’t until I realized that I belonged to myself and figured out what my values were, what I wanted from life, what my purpose is and the like, that I found my Tribe.
I’m still new to the Tribe I’ve found. I’ve known most of my current friends for less than 2 years, but it feels like a home coming having them in my life. We love each other, we support each other and as friends, we belong together.
Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself. It can be scary doing this. You may have to go against the wishes of your parents, loved ones or even religion to follow your dream.
But your dream is the Uni-verse calling you. And once you realize it, you will be home – within yourself and with those you love. Instead of believing what you believe because someone told you to, you will believe what you believe because you have your own life experience on which to base your beliefs.
This is the path of self-realization – to believe what you believe because you have worked it out for yourself and to find out what it feels like to truly belong to yourself and then find the tribe where you belong.
When you belong to yourself, you are no longer mad at parents or loved ones who don’t understand you. You are free to love them as they are, because you don’t need them to see you, because you see yourself. You’re free to love unconditionally and not let their judgments dictate your path.
Ask the Uni-verse to show you how you can belong to yourself. The answers will reveal themselves and your perfect group of friends, colleagues and allies will emerge.
Love,
Mastin
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