Belonging...

We are affiliated with a number of groups. It is human nature, I think, to belong to various groups, beginning with family and moving out. Belonging strengthens you and the other members of the group, as you enhance and enlarge the possibilities when you work together. It can be a support system for the benefit of all. Yet I don't feel it has to define who one is or make you beholden to mimic any group's belief's identically.

Take our immediate family. I love my family and feel very much a part of the group - yet we are all very different individuals, with different tastes, tempos, and basic beliefs in some cases. There is freedom to be oneself in this group without it jeopardizing one's membership even if it isn't always all smooth relationships. And we are there for each other in times of need.

Then there is the community. Our rural area is sparsely populated, but I suspect that makes the community stronger in some ways. Even if we do not know each other or participate in the same activities, I know the folks up here all feel they belong as a part of this region (or, perhaps, that it is part of who they are). We come together to support the events and organizations that define the locale, be it rodeo or festival, the school, or the rural clinic. We work together to help each other, improve things (school and clinic board, our volunteer fire dept. and emergency rescue team), and more. Within that are sub groups such as the back-to-the-land folks, the ranchers, the loggers, the old timers (you get to be one of those when there is no one else alive who can remember a time before your family was here. 30+ years and 3 generations counts for nothing!). These groups are separate generally, yet overlap comfortably when community events occur. Despite our differences there is common ground.

Beyond that many belong to groups that go well beyond community. Some are temporal, such as environmental organizations, political parties, volunteer care groups, or book clubs. Others are spiritual. Sometimes these overlap. And of course there is the group of citizens of a particular country.

Being an American, the same as being a citizen of another country, is usually a group, like family, that you are born into. And, like family, it should give you the freedom to be who you are with your own individual beliefs, that family does. Of course, I am speaking of freedom, not license to behave in a manner which results in excessive or unacceptable behavior.
Being a member of any group should in no way diminish your individuality. It should be a way for you to share it and to enhance and strengthen your relationship with the world around you.

And I feel is important not to forget we all belong to a bigger group, the family of Mankind and the family of Earth. We are all linked together as the inhabitants of this lovely habitable planet. In the big picture, we all look out for each other through our daily actions. With that knowledge subliminally in your mind, I believe you can live a conscious life.

Now...
That said, for citizens of the United States the time is coming up to assert your beliefs in an important way. VOTE!

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.
-Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)

As an U.S. citizen, the most important thing you can do is participate in the process that governs our country. If you haven't already, please use this link to REGISTER TO VOTE
While it may feel as though we are mere voices in the wilderness, and that our lone vote may not have any effect, these votes add up. For each issue, for every candidate, you belong to a group of like minded voters and by adding your vote to that group you help create the change you want to see for the future.