A shift occurred at my workplace. Suddenly, and after a mistake which I was surprised I handled with such ease I was baffled at the inner calm, there arose a profound, sudden relaxation. A letting go just happened without any conscious effort. I felt lighter. What came to mind and heart on my way out, as I walked to my truck, is the liberating confession "I do not belong here." I, for the first time, it seemed, could see my soul, Self, did not fit in that "dark" world.
Such shifts are usually a start, not an end, to discernment. Does it mean I am to look elsewhere for work? Or not? Possibly, the Word means something else that has to do, not with place in the geographical sense, but "place" in a relational sense: that is, my soul, Self, does not belong to this place.
If the latter is true, such would agree with the great mystics. Jesus said to his early followers, "You are in the world, but you are not of the world." We can be in a place, but not of the place.
So, to that word "belong," in "You do not belong here." Let us look closely at that one word. The literal meaning of "belong" can read, based on the prefix be and the Old English: "be going along with." So, to belong means a continuity with, an agreement with (in some sense). Jesus, and the great mystics give us a paradox, that we are to be awake, here fully, yet not here fully. Or, we are here but do not belong here; that is, our surroundings are not in continuity or fellowship with who we truly are.
What appears an irony is, then, before us. By realization that I do not belong, I can better, more fully be present and serve in contented, detached Love. That I felt immediately, today - an opening of heart in my return to where I live, where I felt "fresh" love for others.
So, possibly, realizing you truly do not belong where you are is the opening to living from where you do belong: Grace, Soul, Love. In its most profound sense, we could say of any place, "I am here, but not of, this place."
