The Third Place

Starting in my late 30s, I seemed to collect a variety of groups that I spent time with. I had a coffee group, The Java Sisters, which included teachers who met at a bookstore for coffee after school. Then there was the Planning Committee, who planned nothing but got together to talk about leadership and entrepreneurship over a bit of red wine. The Card Club stopped playing cards after COVID and just met weekly at the local brewery to talk about whatever we could imagine. And now I have The Buds, a special group of my oldest friends. But we gathered...cared for each other...and belonged. For someone who never felt they fit in with a group growing up, this is quite amazing for me to count these opportunities. But how important they can be for meaning and belonging. 

Humans need to belong. Unfortunately, young people join gangs because it is often the only place where they feel a sense of belonging. Sports teams and music groups give that sense of belonging. Churches and service clubs give it. The question to consider is, where do you get it? Belonging...sometimes we have to seek it out and sometimes it seeks us. But one thing for sure, we all need it.

Thanks for listening.