Today I open our new blog. We are going to explore thoughts and experiences, questions and stories having to do with belonging. Some contributions will be deeply personal and other will be more philosophical or even political. The texts may be coherent or incoherent, eloquent or fragmentary. Some aspects of belonging have no words. Perhaps there will be a picture or a sound that explains it better. We want to invite you to share your stories of belonging. And now I am going to share mine.

An inner happiness surrounded by a wall. The wall is a necessary protection when the arrows want to hit me at every unexpected moment from every unexpected direction. I can’t duck, hit after hit makes this impossible.
Every second it can happen again – from a new direction that I didn’t even imagine existed. Every millimeter, every millisecond is a great danger. The wall protects me, I hear the hits like bouncing tennis balls, like hard rain, like hail.
The teddybear gives me warmth and light and quiet.
The teddybear cannot speak.
The teddybear looks at me.
The teddybear touches me.
The teddybear is so unbelievably close to me.
The teddybear keeps me warm.
Warmth gives comfort. The calm gives trust.
The teddybear is the sun.
I know what the teddybear says, the teddybear who cannot speak, speaks. He speaks the whole time without speaking. He always says that what feels good and what makes me happy.

Martin Gelland