The Desert of Arizona
Clear 68 Degrees 5:10 a.m.
Today, we take a trip back in the Daily Journal archives:
In the U.S., today is the day we celebrate our independence as a nation. While this might be considered the “land of the free” on paper, if you look around, it’s easy to see that plenty of people here are NOT “free.”
Dependence is everywhere, because that’s how we’ve been trained.
My goal is to be whole on my own. Only then do I feel that I can truly bring value to other’s lives.
But the training most of us have received is not designed to produce humans like that. The training most of us receive is designed to breed dependence… in body, mind and spirit.
Here are some of the teachings I see:
We are taught we need a job…
We are taught we need a “good” education…
We are taught we need a “degree…”
We are taught we need to follow the rules (someone else’s rules, that is)…
We are taught we need permission…
We are taught we need approval…
Do you see a common thread here?
The common thread is that we are trained to live life from a place of need. We are trained to live life dependent on something outside ourselves.
These are the lessons that are taught.
Accepting these lessons (like I did for YEARS) is basically like drafting your own Declaration of Dependence.
It’s time to rip up the Declaration of Dependence and declare yourself an independent individual.
Your life is not meant to become a tool for someone else.
Your life is a gift for you to use to enrich yourself and the rest of the world.
And you don’t “need” anything or anyone to get started.
No permission, no approval, no validation. Nothing.
This doesn’t mean we can’t help each other. Helping is not dependence. Dependence is a state of mind.
Are you responsible for yourself or not? That’s really what it all comes down to.
Answering in the affirmative doesn’t mean everything in your life is roses and bon bons. But it does mean that you know where to look for your answers. You don’t look “out there” for deliverance, you simply look in the mirror.
I’ve been “dependent” and I’ve tasted freedom (which is a daily journey). Free is better.