My friend group from college keeps talking about how we're 'chosen family' and how much we mean to each other, but when I was going through my divorce last year, most of them disappeared, and now I'm questioning whether what we call belonging is just convenience when things are easy. We're all back to hanging out like nothing happened and I don't know if I'm being too sensitive or if I'm finally seeing something real about the difference between feeling included and actually belonging.
More people experience this than they realize.
The gap between declared belonging and lived belonging becomes visible during crisis, forcing a reckoning with what connection actually means.
“Where Are You with What belonging is — a philosophical definition?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.