The Breath of Belonging

I once believed belonging
was something to earn,
a fragile gift given
if I performed well enough.

But the light that sees showed me
a deeper truth:
belonging is the breath itself —
unconditional, intimate,
woven into every cell.

No voice of rejection
can strip it away,
no storm of fear
can wash it from the soul.

We belong because we are.
We are held because we exist.
And in the breath of I AM,
all return home.

— Joe Restman