One of the things I love about our small village of Cerrillos, New Mexico, is our annual Fiesta de los Cerrillos.  It is a down-home, relaxed event with artists, a parade (don’t blink or you will miss it!), food, a hayride, a watermelon and lemonade stand, dancers, music, and best of all, a donkey race.  It is organized entirely by volunteers, residents of Cerrillos.  This is our third year in New Mexico, and my husband and I participated on the planning committee for the fiesta.  What a great team, and what a wonderful event it was again this year, a true representation of the depth of community here.  I felt such a keen sense of belonging

Belonging is one of our primary needs as human beings.  As Brené Brown said, “Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us.  Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it.  Because true belonging only happens when we present out authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be great than our level of self-acceptance.”

I feel that deep sense of belonging with our Your Infinite Life Training & Coaching Company tribe.  When our dog Veronica died, these were the people I first called.  If something comes up to explore or I simply need to talk, I know I can count on my YIL tribe to listen and guide.  In that tribe are my friends, mentors, my family. 

 It is through the work of Your Infinite Life that I am in a place to make those connections, to build that trust, and to exhale into belonging.  The trainings and courses are sacred to me.  The community is life-long.  

Brené also said, “Belonging so fully to yourself that you are willing to stand alone is a wilderness – an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching.  It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared.  The wilderness can often feel unholy because we can’t control it, or what people think about our choice of whether to venture into that vastness or not.  But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.”      

If you are interested in exploring community, in deepening your sense of belonging, and in being so solid in yourself that you can stand in that wilderness, consider attending one of Your Infinite Life’s upcoming courses.