“What tribes are, is a very simple concept that goes back 50 million years. It's about leading and connecting people and ideas. And it's something that people have wanted forever.” — Seth Godin

Deeply entrenched in our souls is the craving for togetherness, the desire to belong to something. Sometimes those tribes are our greatest source of tension and anxiety. The complexity in that is they are also a great source of purpose and intimacy.

Family is a good example of how we, despite our interpersonal conflicts, want to belong, we almost feel an obligation to belong. That obligation can be tied to guilt, but under that I believe is something else, a tie to others we cannot seem to break. And this goes for more than just family. While family is a layer of tribes, we form tribes and join tribes of our own.

The tribes we join are determined by the commonalities we share. But our tribes, our circles of influence, are enriched when we go outside of the confines of those tribes and explore. We are enriched when we discover the differences of those around us. They inspire us and teach us. They challenge us and frustrate us.

Being in community with others teaches us what we never knew we needed to learn. We learn what it means to be truly human. And when we allow our eyes to be open we see a reflection of God in others. It can draw us to a deeper understanding of who this mysterious God is. It pulls us away from doctrines and ideologies and reveals the pure, honest, and authentic nature of God.

Belonging to tribes sets the tone for understanding innumerable mysteries. It slowly begins to remove a self-centric view of life unveiling infinite experiences and truth. It opens us up to an opportunity to be intimately involved in the human story.

Further reading: Seth Godin — Tribes