Defined from The Oxford Dictionary belonging is - “fit or be acceptable in a particular place or environment”
I do not believe this is the thorough definition of belonging, because in the Oxford definition it only talks about belonging to a place. There is also belonging to a time and belonging to people.
It is where and how we belong to people, place and time thats establishes who we are and what people depict you are in our world as well as your own identity.
In Maslow's “Hierarchy of needs” belonging is only one part of the chain for fulfilling desires and needs. Belonging is one of the more basic needs and show how fundamental it is. In Maslow's hierarchy, in order for a person to experience belonging, they must first have physiological needs to be fulfilled, then they must feel safe. Once they have their belonging needs, they will then be able to go up then chain by achieving the esteem need by having confidence and earn respect of others.
Experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding can enhance our understanding of belonging because our experiences and notions of anything are shaped by people, place and time. Depending on experiences such as pain, emotions and knowledge is what shapes how we belong and what it means o belong.
Identity of a person is the essence of a self conscience person which makes him the same person over time. To form an identity one must have a distinct personality where people define you as an individual. Belonging or not belonging shapes our identity by affecting aspects of our identity such as self esteem and confidence. Our own identity and belonging can also shape how we see the identity of others because the way we see ourselves and our status in a group can make us categorise people into groups which we like.
Time is an important notion when discussing about belonging and attitudes towards belonging because it is what we experiences through time that develop who we are. Also...