Belonging

Someone in my other job, which is working with individuals with disabilities, shared the website Appartenance- Belonging with me. This Canadian based site is a place that ponders creating a world where everyone belongs. It’s a beautifully done and thought provoking site. It looks at belonging as a basis for action and a basis for change.

Here’s one of many illustrations of the idea from the site, this one taken from Ivan Illich’s book, Energy and Equity:

“That which is first experienced as liberation – e.g., no longer having to draw water from wells – quickly becomes alienating: We believe that we no longer need one another; we isolate ourselves and become strangers to others and then to ourselves. “

The site’s about fighting our tendency toward alienation and dehumanization, as they state, “all forms of life are connected, for they are elements of the same ecosystem.” The site looks at social and environmental issues affected by the concept, such as urban planning, chemicals and toxins and even slow food.

The post on the UN Summit in Copenhagen drew my attention, but if you take a look, you will probably be drawn deeper into the site as I was. Take a few minutes when you have some time to breath in the fresh air of Belonging.