Tribe - Lean on Me
Give me the freaks and geeks; the artists, actors, performers and musicians - the creatively inspired. Give me the damaged, cracked and broken; the tortured souls who have seen the worst and kept going and kept supporting others - those with nothing who ultimately give more than those with everything!
Give me the loud ones committed to a cause or the tired from giving everything they had! Give me the empaths and truly compassionate who have completely lost it because they endure not only their own pain, but the pain and suffering of others. Give me those people who have learned the hard way how big the small things are, how small the big things are, and the ones who have no alternative but to see just how truly short life is! I'll take the eccentric, the cracked and the strange and un-entitled over those with a sense of entitlement.
Give me the people in my new neighbourhood over those who feigned neighbourly. Give me my real tribe; my brothers and sisters who truly believe in family. I love people who laugh at the same parts of a show as me, at the same time… people who move to and are moved by the same music and parts of a certain song as I do/am. People who like the same art and literature and comedy and books and nerdy things as I do. People who get me and I get.
I love the feeling of connecting with people at a deep level without even speaking – the ability to understand you at a deeper level just by listening to a song or watching a show together.
I once got accused of attention seeking and trying to be a hero because I was a loud supporter of my sisters and brothers in blue – by the ‘heroes’ who don’t like others to be heroes because they believe that takes away from what they have or have done. Those who define themselves by what they do and are threatened by others who can do what they do, as well. Especially those who can do it better or with real heart.
I thought these people were my brothers and sisters and saw so many things in common with them at one time, however after having lived the lie for a time, I realized that they were my false tribe – the one that I had been conditioned to believe were the only people who could possibly understand me. But that’s not a healthy tribe.
A healthy tribe consists of people who are good for you and your mental health. Those who accept you as you are and who bring peace and help you forget the trauma and drama and sadness and pain of your life. Who challenge you and help you grow into the person you are meant to be. Those who add to your life not subtract from it. And these people aren’t all my brothers and sisters, they come from diverse backgrounds and are all from very different walks of life.
They are police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and soldiers; they're teachers and professors, counsellors, social workers, nurses and crisis workers; they're artists, actors, musicians and creatives; they're naturopaths, homeopaths, yogis, mediums, sensitives, empaths and belly dancers; they're techies, tradesmen and women, retired, unemployed and business owners.
They are eclectic in nature but share the same values and common traits – openness, honesty, genuineness, unconditional positive regard for others; with the main ingredient within them all being acceptance – radical acceptance of themselves and others, and self-love – which can only exist where there is self-awareness.