Day 58 - Rotation Battles

On Mark's journey he encountered a few trainers that participated in an alternative type of Pokémon battle. Called Rotation Battles, these required trainers to coordinate and battle with 3 Pokémon as if they were one. As Mark joined in these complex pieces of balancing art he could not help but realize how when one of a team's three Pokémon fell their team had all but lost the battle. The remaining turns usually felt like only a formality. On the best rotation teams each Pokémon served a purpose, they all belonged. Mark wondered if that is why he did not feel he belonged, because apart from his family he had never really been a part of something; he had never had a purpose. Mark deeply wanted a purpose. He loved watching his Pokémon rotate in and out of battle to help each other achieve victory. He liked how both dependent and supportive they were on each other. He wanted to find a place he could rotate into both to help others and to be helped when he needed it.

Community is an important part of belonging. Good communities help to give us both a role and a purpose. The times in my life when I have felt the greatest sense of belonging were when I was heavily participating in a community. Sometimes that community was a group of friends, my church, my family, a group or class at school, or even a sports team. Each of those communities helped make me feel a part of something greater and helped me feel belonging and purpose. Unfortunately at the moment I am struggling to feel belonging or acceptance in the communities I have currently, and I have not had success in finding new ones that fit who I am today. Eventually I will have that again, I have hope and faith in that future.