The Longing to Belong

There’s a quiet ache I’ve carried all my life—a desire to belong. Not just to a group, a cause, or a community, but to something deeper… to a circle of women who know me, see me, and hold me close as one of their own, surrounded and supported by wise brothers who value and listen to my fears and dreams without judgment. And yet, I’ve often found myself stepping away from the comfort of closeness into the wilderness of new adventures, leaving loved ones at home. I am led by a light inside me that won't be dimmed, like a lighthouse shining its beam in the certainty that guides those lost at sea to safe harbors.

As I reflect on my long life, I see the adventures that helped me learn along this path to balance harmony and freedom - to smile at adversity and adventure with joy and a desire to greet life full on!

At 18, I boarded a train to the west of England, off to university in 1967, the year of flower power and shifting tides. I left the warmth of my family home, afraid but willing, unsure of what lay ahead. I was naïve, yes—but open. I smiled, made friends, and rebuilt the “confidence to belong” that I’d left at home with my parents. I was stepping into independence and freedom. That was my first adventure from the safety of home —and welcome to my natural gifts to connect and converse, using precious natural gifts so valuable I didn't recognize them at first. Now I teach others to know their value.

Fast forward almost six decades. I’ve circled the globe, even journeyed alone this July to Africa, where you see me on stage shining my light. I traveled from the West Coast of the U.S. to Tanzania over 34 hrs to be there to spread my message of harmony. I am blessed to have lived a life of rich, daring exploratory 7 decades. Along the way, I have been in many roles, and I’ve given birth to babies and businesses. I divorced after 30 years and remarried into a new culture. I’ve stood on global stages and danced with both fear and excitement. But still, the question lingers:

Where do I truly belong?

There’s a paradox that lives in me as I crave the intimacy of sisterhood and the closeness of family ... yet the liberty of adventure. I long for those close bonds where women hold space for one another, but I also need to be free to roam, to discover, to expand. Sometimes I wonder… do other women see me as a sister, or as a maverick they don’t quite understand?

Is there room for both?

Over the years, I’ve noticed something that stirs my soul. When I share pioneering ideas, some women hesitate. They're unsure how to respond. There’s a fear, perhaps, of stepping outside their close-knit sister groups, of venturing too far beyond the boundaries of collective safety.

Yet my truth remains—I want both.
I want closeness and curiosity.
Roots and wings.
Sisterhood and solitude.

This may not be a path for everyone. Many women find deep joy in staying within a single community, nurturing long-standing friendships close to home. And that is beautiful.

But my journey of belonging is mobile, fluid, roaming from one cultural context to another, seeking out women with open minds and open hearts, inviting magical conversations that span time zones and soul zones.

I’ve learned that belonging isn’t about fitting in. It's about showing up, exactly as I am. Maverick sister, entrepreneur, genius, gifted, gamechanger… G-Woman!

Thought for reflection…

Have you ever felt like you didn’t quite fit into one place… even as you longed to be part of something real, something warm, something close?

You’re not alone.

Belonging is a vibration. And when we honor both our need for connection and our call to adventure, we start to find that the right people, the right sisters, show up exactly when we need them.

Written from an adventurer’s heart.