The following talk is given by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist and author.

The following talk is given by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist and author.

The following talk is given by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist and author.

Good evening again.

When the Dalai Lama speaks, he has a refrain that many of you are familiar with,

which is that nobody wants to suffer and everybody wants to be happy.

And a core ingredient to that happiness is a sense of belonging.

And if that word doesn't work, it's a sense of connectedness, of being a part of.

The word belonging really implies that what we are is more than this separate egoic self,

that we are a part of this aliveness and awareness in this world.

And there's a story about belonging that I wanted to share with you that was written by Mark Vendoren.

He says, a boy named Eddie Shell came one afternoon to play with Frank and me,

and at the hour for going home did not know how to do so.

This is a melody that afflicts all children, but my mother was not sure how she should handle it in Eddie's case.

She consulted us secretly as to whether he should be asked to stay for supper.

We thought not, so she hinted to him that his mother might be expecting him.

He was so slow in acting upon the hint that we were all in despair and began to feel guilty

because we hadn't pressed him to stay.

What I remember now is Eddie standing at last on the other side of the screen door

and trying to say goodbye as if he meant it.

My mother said, warmly, well Eddie, come and see us again.

We're up on the open, the door and walked in.

...