Most of us, most of the time, feel left out- misfits. We don’t belong. Others seem to be so confident, so sure of themselves, “insiders” who know the ropes, old hands in a club from which we are excluded.

One of the ways we have of responding to this is to form our own club, or join one that will have us. Here is at least one place where we are “in” and the others “out”. The club’s range informal to formal in gatherings that are variously political, social, cultural and economic. But the one thing they have in common is the principle of exclusion. Identity or worth is achieved by excluding all but the chosen. The terrible price we pay for keeping all. Those other people out so that we can savour the sweetness of being insiders is a reduction of reality, a shrinkage of life – Eugene Peterson

In my work and personal experience, it has always been a strong internal drive of mine to be part of a culture that breaks down the walls of exclusion. The term Eugene Peterson uses of “a shrinkage of life” couldn’t be more relevant to today. We often feel our worlds shrink inwards when we don’t feel we are a valid part of something in the workplace or at home. It saps us of our energy, robs us of our commitment to betterment and leaves us feeling alone.

At times and in situations like these I’m reminded of the theme song of Cheers. Wouldn’t you like to go to a place where everybody knows your name? And they’re always glad you came? You want to know that you can go where people are all the same. You want to go where everybody knows your name. Recognition and acceptance are two of the main reasons why people stay in work and in relationships. It also doesn’t require much of any of us to step out of our place where we have excluded others. I wonder whose name we could say, who we could recognise today and who we could open the doors to our club?