How do you celebrate belonging?

Birthdays celebrate our birth anniversary. They are a reminder that we belong to something bigger than ourselves - a family, a group of friends, or perhaps on a meta-level, that we belong to the human race.

Weddings, too, are celebrations that signify that we are in partnership with another and with our community - we belong.

Belonging is a healthy feeling and it is also a choice.

To whom or to what do we choose to belong, and how do we choose to acknowledge that belonging?

No matter where you are stuck, how does celebrating belonging to something that matters support your optimal health?

Celebrations can be public acknowledgements of belonging, but they don't have to be big and showy.

They can also be quiet and private.

When I wear my Masai bracelets, I celebrate belonging to the global community of women who bring their courage to the everyday-table-of-life.

When my friend wears her pink polar fleece pussy hat and sews as many as she can to share with friends (including me), she is celebrating belonging to a group of politically progressive women who will never, ever give up.

And when my daughter stays up until 3:00 a.m. editing a podcast memorializing the too-early death of a beloved friend, she is celebrating belonging to a friend group who attended Jewish sleep-away camp and later moved to Colorado to do social justice work.

Remembering to pay attention to what or to whom we belong matters. Notice how you choose to wake up to the potential for celebrating.

Make belonging and celebrating that belonging-ness a healthy habit.