Where do I belong? Its a question that we all ask ourselves time and again, that nagging feeling that creeps up on us from time to time as we watch the minutes and days pass without taking definitive steps to becoming the whole and healthy us. Even when you’re on the road, we are assured that there will be hiccups in the process – the rain that inevitably falls, the moments that you are out of sync with the people around you, that season where you truly feel like a misfit in the world that you’re required to inhabit for a while on the road to your Valhalla/Nirvana/Heaven. Take your pick. Where do we belong? There is a great video called This is Home that I listen to when life sucks. Needless to say, I know all the words.
I thank Donald Miller, that pesky writer of all things Blue Like Jazz for his recommend of Switchfoot’s new album, Vice Versa. There isn’t a song in the world that feels more right than “Where I Belong” for me today – do you ever feel as though your halfway between here and there, one foot in the future and one in the present? It’s that gaping divide beneath you that makes you a little nervous. Serious lessons to be learned from the daunting abyss, as it often reflects back to you the person that you’ve become inside with less than favorable light.
Switchfoot, Where I Belong, from the album Vice Versa, release 2011
Here is the deal about depression, life and change. You are the only person that can change your state. If your negative, know it and do something about it. Take up your life like a cause, get off your duff and make that change. One life around this circus, and it’s beautiful…if you want it to be. No matter the cash, the fame, the status….real life is about love. Go be who you are in living color. Ask for help. Ask again. Never give up, never let go.
I was reminded by the encouraging music of Switchfoot – after they “Dare You To Move” – you also live on. Finding where I belong is still a work in progress. As this doesn’t seem to be the day that Jesus is returning I still have time to discover who I am in this life. It’s not always comfortable…change is rarely comfortable, is it? In the meantime, I am going to just step over the abyss and toward all that time, effort and energy that the Divine nature of love has invested in me.
Wherever you are today, know that you are unique, loved and irreplaceable.
You are perfect for where and who you are in this moment.
Empower yourself in steps of change, and don’t let the abyss scare you off. It might be a mile deep – but it’s only a foot wide.
You matter. You do! Who you are, where you are....you're totally unique.
I belong to the love that made me, saves me, heals me, grows me, teaches me, reprimands me, breaks me, picks me up and loves me to a higher level of everything.
Where doesn’t really matter…..
Each of us will endure a time where loneliness creeps into your soul and sets up camp. It’s important in that time to remember – you are special. It’s not easy when you feel two inches tall to not sit and weep – but on the other side of your time in the rain, there is a spring and a summer….and eventually, perhaps another dark night of the soul. Live it, engage, equip yourself with the positive and be you. Authentic, well, whole. Know that you’re loved. Do your best and let that be enough for the day.
Here are the lyrics to the music if you’re interested. Find your space of peace and grace today, and don’t let the little stuff bug you. I’ve already had crappy people in my face for asking a single question this am – you know what? I just don’t have to expend the energy to care. I’m happy, centered and ready for the amazing Advent season ahead of us.
By the way…… I dare you to move. 🙂
Where I Belong, copyright Switchfoot 2011
Feeling like a refugee
Like it don’t belong to me
The colors flash across the sky
This air feels strange to me
Feeling like a tragedy
I take a deep breath and close my eyes
One last time
One last time
Storms on the wasteland
Dark clouds on the plains again
We were born into the fight
But I’m not sentimental
This skin and bones is a rental
And no one makes it out alive
Yeah
Until I die I’ll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong
Where the weak are finally strong
Where the righteous right the wrongs
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong
Yeah
Feels like we’re just waiting, waiting
While are hearts are just breaking, breaking
Feels like we’ve been fighting against the tide
I wanna see the earth start shaking
I wanna see a generation
Finally waking up inside
Yeah
Until I die I’ll sing these songs
On the shores of Babylon
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong
Where the weak are finally strong
Where the righteous right the wrongs
Still looking for a home
In a world where I belong
A world where I belong
This body’s not my own
This world is not my own
But I still can hear the sound
Of my heart beating out
So let’s go boys, sing it loud
And on the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song
And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I’ve arrived
In a world where I belong
In a world where I belong
In a world where I belong
Where I belong
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah
Where I belong
Yeah!
I still believe we can live forever
You and I we begin forever now
Forever now
Forever
I still believe in us together
You and I we’re here together now
Together now
Forever now
Forever now
Forever now
Forever
Forever