Rhoda Climenhaga - On Belonging

Rhoda Climenhaga

For a good portion of my younger life, I wasn’t sure if I belonged. I had friends, went to college, but I guess something hadn’t clicked. Chinese Culture and Biology both interested me. I tried going the route of getting a Ph.D in Anthropology, but somehow that wasn’t quite right. I tried working in a lab; that wasn’t quite right either. Finally I thought to put it together and study Chinese Medicine, a light went on and I was soon in love. 

When I got to Acupuncture school, in my thirties, for the first time I felt like I was right where I belonged. The people around me were also in love and we worked together with passion. Of course, we had our differences, but we had in common a desire to learn this medicine that felt fascinating and true, and then to use it to help other people. For most this was also tied in with some kind of spirituality. It was a meeting of the minds, and of souls, it was finding my calling.

After the first year of study together, we became a tight group, and sometimes laughed at ourselves when we noticed we were excitedly talking about bodily functions over lunch. We supported each other through our studies, but also in our personal lives. Thanks to this group, I had the community I needed to leave a bad relationship, and was welcomed to bring my daughter with me as a newly single mom. Others were supported through relationship changes, losses, and personal growth. Cultures met and learned about each other, sometimes clashing, but mostly getting along. We grew together like the roots of trees intertwining and nourishing each other at the same time as the branches dance around in the air.

When we graduated, we began to go our separate ways. Sure, I still have some connections, but I also found belonging can be impermanent. It comes and goes. A few years ago I had some other life losses that led me to New Jersey to be near family; so again I was looking for community, for belonging, and I came across Summit Beacon UU. Quickly I saw that not only could this be a place to belong, it was a place that actively nourishes community, and a shared passion for justice and equity. Little by little, once more, I’m finding I’m right where I belong.