Our need to belong is natural, healthy, and necessary, but the craving for acceptance is egocentric, fragile, and unstable. That's why many of us feel stuck between wanting connection, but resenting social convention pressuring us to conform in order to belong. The Buddha's realization was that he wasn't even separate from the tree under which he was meditating; they were one. We all are. My invitation is for us to bring that level of awareness into every interaction, and to see everyone and everything as an extension of ourselves. You don't need to "prove your worth," and you certainly don't need to pretend to be something you are not in order to belong. If you find value in these videos, please show your support at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/support — Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love.