Independence
Independence Day
Happy 4th, but are you really? Independent,
that is. When are we truly independent? The German
philosopher, Kant, had the idea that we were not yet
mature or independent if a book takes the place of
understanding, or when an outside authority takes the
place of conscience, or a doctor is given greater authority
over our body than our own knowingness.
Inherently, we are free and independent, in equal degree to the level of our
awareness. The more you know, the more you understand what is truly important
and what is not. Most important to independence is our own integrity. Integrity
is very real and tangible. Integrity is measurable and embodies such traits as:
taking personal responsibility, keeping your word, and being faithful in the
little things. It’s about being honest, standing your ground for what is
right, maintaining your honor and sense of virtue, being morally upright (however
that looks to you personally), making right choices and doing what you say you
will do. Integrity, like love, is something you cannot pretend to have. You either
have it or you don't, and the majority of life’s circumstances will ask
that you prove that you have it. If your core belief is one of integrity, your
decisions will bear that out. If not, that too will become obvious. The more
you stand in your integrity, the more independent you become. You are less guided
by outside influences than you are by your own center of wisdom.
Independence is firmly standing up for what you believe. Independence is about
speaking your whole truth, even when to do so may not be popular. Independence
is making choices from the center of your soul and not from the outside pressures
for conformity. Independence is having a sense of safety and knowing the Universe
always has your back.
Independence means knowing that you are the master of your own reality and taking
personal responsibility for the quality of your own life. Independence is about
a willingness to really know your self.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I pack my trunk, embrace my friends, embark
on the sea, and at last wake up in Naples, and there beside me is the stern fact,
the sad self, the unrelenting identical that I fled from.” Real independence
take courage, it’s not for sissies.
But, the truth is that as long as you keep seeking your good feelings and applause
from outside yourself, you are clearly not yet independent. You can’t be
independent if you let others tell you what your values ought to be.
I guess that last sentence is why my take on this holiday might be different
than most.
No, I am not crazy, and yes, I really do know what this holiday is supposed to
be about. However, I cannot yet wrap my head around any notion that our independence
comes from out side of us, or that we can, or should, ever be independent from
our human family in the world, or that we will find independence by taking it
away from someone else. I don’t know how we get to be independent by forcing
others to believe as we do, or live as we live. I’m not sure how we get
independent by pillaging the earth’s resources, or the minds and bodies
of our young. I have never understood, my block, my city, my country, and my
rights over your rights. So I guess my lack of awareness about these issues leaves
me with no other alternative, but to create independence in my own heart, in
my own home and in my own mind. After all, one thing I do know is that you have
to have it before you can give it away.
Arizona Together
July 2006
Dr. Dina Evan
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