Connect With Your Tribe, Whoever & Wherever They Are

Susan notes: "Goam" is the khaleeji word for tribe (and khaleej is the Arabic word for gulf; I've lived in the United Arab Emirates on the shores of the Arabian Gulf for 17 years). I learned the word goam from fellow twitter tribesmen @wildpeeta.

I belong to several goam or tribes, the members of which are scattered in all corners of the globe. These timely words from The Daily Om caused me to reflect on the importance of my tribes...

They are the people who accept me as I am, and gladly accompany me on my journeys of evolution and transformation. Thank you to all my tribe members near and far.

Part of being human is the search for an individual identity. Bound to this strong need to establish a unique persona, however, is an equally intense desire for acceptance. It is when we find our individual tribes that both are satisfied.

Our tribe members are those people who accept us as we are without reservation and gladly accompany us on our journeys of evolution.

Among them, we feel free to be our imperfect selves, to engage unabashedly in the activities we enjoy, and to express our vulnerabilities by relying on our tribe for support. We feel comfortable investing our time and energy in the members of our tribe, and are equally comfortable allowing them to invest their resources in our development.

The individuals who eventually become members of your unique tribe are out there in the wide world waiting for you. You are destined to find them, one by one, as you move through life. Sometimes your own efforts will put you in contact with your future tribe members. At other times, circumstances beyond your control will play a role in helping you connect with your tribe.

If you look about you and discover that you are already allied with a wonderful and supportive tribe, remember that there are likely many members of your tribe you have not yet met. On the other hand, if you feel you are still living outside of your tribe, broadening your horizons can help you find your tribe members.

However your life develops after you come together with your tribe, you can be assured that its members will stand at your side. On the surface, your tribe may seem to be nothing more than a loose-knit group of friends and acquaintances to whom you ally yourself.

Yet when you look deeper, you will discover that your tribe grounds you and provides you with a sense of community that ultimately fulfills many of your most basic human needs.

From The Daily Om