-bell hooks-
bell hooks said she needed "to live where I can walk," that she needed to have a connection with nature to feel like she belongs (hooks, 2). Nature is what keeps her grounded and spiritually connected. This place is often rural and in the South. Although she feels a belonging in the region where she is surrounded by nature, racial prejudice against her often challenges that sense of belonging, of being welcomed. She notes that part of this continued racism and prejudice comes from white supremacy and "residential segregation" that is enforced by internalized fear of white Americans by African Americans and a sense of safety among other African Americans (hooks, 72).
-Me-
In a twisted sense, I need to feel love/comfort and suffering/pain to feel like I belong, they must co-exist in my environment and even my relationship. A part of me deep down, a nagging in the back of my head makes me feel like I cannot belong within a setting that is all love/comfort, there has to be some kind of suffering/pain. My images this week show both of these needs. It is not one or the other, but the balance of the two.
It can be challenging to meet these needs, but there is always a way. When that part of me decides I am too comfortable, to happy it self-creates suffering, self-sabotages that happiness and comfort. There are also challenges in reverse, but it is harder to balance the suffering/pain by adding love and comfort. That usually comes in the form of a loved one or the chance encounter with a dog.
