Willingness to belong

I used to hang out at this record store when I was younger. Buying cd after cd. Not because I needed them all but because each purchase felt like proof I belonged there. The synthesizer store was the same. I’d walk in and buy something just to have that moment of connection. To be part of the conversation. “What have you bought? Look at this awesome thing.”

We buy our way into communities. The transaction becomes the handshake. The receipt becomes the membership card.

Sometimes the willingness to belong costs more than we planned to spend. But maybe that’s the price of finding your people.