Happy Independence Day!
I’d love for you to reflect during today’s holiday (in the US) on what independence means to you. Is it:
— having enough money so you don’t have to work any more?
— choosing what you do each day?
— being free of family or social obligations that entangle you?
— having your basic needs (food, healthcare, housing) met?
It could be any of these. It could be all of these. It could be something else. But whatever it is, I want you to consider how you will work towards that independence? What’s your plan?
I am starting to frame independence for myself as taking responsibility for my choices. I can do what I want…if I am willing to accept the consequences. I don’t “have to” do anything, even though I often feel like I do.
I don’t “have to” work each day…if I’m willing to live without income.
I don’t “have to” take care of my kids…if I’m wiling to abandon my family.
I don’t “have to” satisfy other people’s requests…if I’m willing to have them no longer like me.
I don’t “have to” exercise…if I’m willing to accept a body that is not functioning as well as it could.
Independence for me is making choices and living with the consequences. I become more free when I let go of my preconceptions of what I think “should” happen. Instead, I am learning to accept my current situation as it is (not as I want it to be), and then consciously decide what to do next based on what I choose to value.
Admittedly, I have a lot of privilege and don’t have to experience the headwinds of living in a system that is structured against me. I’ll let others who face such bias comment on whether such a framing of independence resonates with them.
What does independence mean to you?
P.S. The photo is from earlier this week when I chose to hike up a mountain with a 30 pound weight on my back. It felt great!