Download probiotics for belonging

PROBIOTICS FOR BELONGING
 P = Connections may be felt towards People or Places.
 R =Belonging is expressed through the Representation of








Relationships.
O = Only in the context of acceptance and understanding of difference
can an individual feel that he/she belongs.
B = People may encounter Barriers to belonging.
I = Belonging is an Instinctive need in us all.
O = Being an Outsider allows individuals to challenge a group.
T = Attitudes to belonging change over Time.
I = Belonging gives an Individual the potential to enrich a group.
C = The individual may Choose to belong or not belong, often
dependent on Context.
S = Only the individual can determine whether or not he/she belongs –
Self-perceptions are important.
People and Places
Individuals may develop important connections to
both people and places. Family and friends are an
example of how connections between people are
important in providing a feeling of belonging in a
person’s life by conveying both acceptance and
understanding. Individuals may also have a strong
connection to their country of origin which forms a
key part of their identity. Individuals may forge
connections to particular sites, such as the childhood
home, a regular holiday location or the site of a
significant event in the individual’s history or
culture.
Representation of people and Relationships
The representation of people and their relationships
within texts is determined by the text types and
language forms and features. Composers employ
language and visual techniques in order to fully
convey an individual’s sense of belonging or not
belonging. A crowded composition might speak of
connections, whilst a lot of white space or open
composition may reinforce a feeling of social
isolation.
Only with acceptance and understanding
A feeling of belonging is present only when there is
the perception of acceptance and understanding.
Limitations and conditions suggest partial
acceptance. An individual cannot feel a sense of
belonging whilst his free will and those aspects that
form his self-identity are denied.
Eg. The Assimilation policy of 1950s Australia
towards the aborigines denied the indigenous
Australians a sense of belonging due to the
restrictions on cultural practices and State control of
the individual.
Barriers to Belonging
Barriers to belonging may be social, economic,
emotional or physical. Such barriers may be caused
by governments, other individuals, by a fact of
geography or physical ability/disability or by the
emotional unwillingness of the individual
themselves.
The context of the relationship to person or place
may prevent feelings of belonging. (Refer to previous
example where the social and political context
prevented Aboriginals from belonging to Australian
society).
An Instinctive need in us all
After food and shelter, belonging is an essential
individual need (see Maslow’s heirarchy). Our desire
for acceptance and understanding underpins many
of our actions.
Sometimes an individual’s identity is bound in their
desire to be seen as separate, to not belong;
sometimes the individual must isolate him/herself
from one group in order to gain acceptance to
another.
Outsiders can challenge a group
Belonging to a group conveys implicit acceptance of
the rules governing the group (conformity).
Challenging the group may force one outside the
group (ostracism). Outsiders to a group may
challenge the group as a result of a different
perspective, whether this is due to the objectivity or
greater emotional distance experienced as an
outsider.
Attitudes to belonging change over Time
As individuals and their contexts change, so too do their
attitudes to belonging change. Attitudes to belonging are
organic rather than fixed.
A group’s approach to belonging may also change where
enough individuals within the group shift their thinking
and agitate for a change to the collective attitude.
Kevin Rudd, as Prime Minister of Australia, was able to
make his “Sorry Speech” in Parliament in 2008 because
Australians had agitated for this to happen. This marks a
profound change to Australian attitudes since the 1950s.
Individuals have the potential to enrich a group
Acceptance and understanding allows individuals the
freedom and security to participate in and contribute
to the group; to do so extends their feelings of
membership to the group.
This participation and contribution by the individual
has the potential to enrich the group by producing
positive change and growth.
The individual has the power to share an alternative
view of the world which may awaken other members
of the group to different ways of seeing and being.
Choosing to belong or not – Context dependent
Individuals may choose to belong or not to belong.
Whilst we recognise why someone would want to belong,
we are often confused by an individual’s desire not to
belong.
Reasons not to belong generally reflect a conflict between
the individual’s personal values and context, and those of
the group to which the individual seeks to remain
separate.
In some cases, being separate from one group ensures
membership to another group. Alternatively, the
individual’s self-identify may be one founded on
“separateness”.
Self-perceptions are crucial
Only the individual can decide whether or not he/she
belongs. This will invariably depend on their own
sense of self-worth and the success of the other
person or group in conveying acceptance and
understanding.
Individuals with low self-esteem or those who have a
negative view of the world, will find belonging a
more elusive experience than those for whom selfconfidence is plenty and the world appears
predominately positive.