Emily Esfahani Smith

And I'll say too, just kind of referring back to the data as well, so much of what's driving rising rates of depression, suicide, self-harm is loneliness and a sense of isolation.

And again, the antidote to that is belonging and feeling connected to others.

Yeah.

I think so.

And I said a second ago too, oh, you don't necessarily have to have all the pillars in your life for your life to feel meaningful, but I'll make an exception to that.

Whereas I do think you have to have a sense of belonging, connections to others that feel rich and meaningful to you.

Human beings are social creatures.

We thrive on the relationships that we have.

And when you ask people, OK, what are your most important sources of meaning in life, they will say, my relationships, my family, my community.

So belonging is really important.

And yes, I think it can fuel these other pillars of meaning as well.

I mean, if you think about purpose, a lot of us will find a sense of purpose in being a part of a community, in playing a particular role in a community.

Think about caretakers, for example.

Caretaking is kind of an ultimate example of loving and devoting your life to something beyond yourself.

And so it's belonging there, but it's also this sense of purpose as well.

So I do think that belonging is kind of underneath many of the pillars and really important for all of us to have in our lives.

And I'll just say too, we hear a lot about how relationships are important to wellbeing.

Relationships are important for our sense of happiness, our sense of meaning.

And I just wanna say, of course, that's what I'm saying, but when I talk about belonging,

What I'm really talking about is a specific type of relationship, a relationship, again, where you're valued for who you are intrinsically.