An Independence Day - Independent from the Rest

July 4th is a very festive occasion for most Americans.  The barbecue, the fireworks, the days off...and then the reflection, no matter how slight or how in-depth, about being an American and what Independence Day means personally.

On this past July 4, I decided to begin a practice of being 100% independent from fear, doubt, and worry.

For years, I have always wanted to take my children on a cross country trip.  What held me back the most was fear.  Going 3,000 miles away (and then coming back), on the road, single, all females, can be quite discomforting if one starts thinking about the worst case scenarios.  Then, the weather.  I am an armchair meteorologist because I disdain driving through snow and I am terrified of tornadoes.

Wait.

Correction.

Was.

Now, I make sure I have good tires for the snow and have good judgment in travel while having a Follow-Me forecast - going about the business at hand.

We went on this trip and came back.  We experienced and saw great things and I'm sure it expanded the children's awareness about some things.  But when we got back into our city, everything looked so different to me.

The things that I used to be concerned about...disappeared.  Those things that may need addressing are still existent, but they just don't live rent free yelling from the balcony to keep a state of turmoil in my conscious anymore. Those so-called issues are just merely 'things to do' and those 'things to do' are now addressed on an "as need to address without emotional involvement" basis.

Done.

Next.

I realized Sunday evening (7/6) that I had peeled away pretty much all the layers of past influences.  Everything has changed.  I'm cautious in not using the words belief and perception.  I could say belief and perception have changed, but those words just don't cut deep enough.  It's more of an awakening.  Seeing past what I used to think it is to what it really is.

All through my trip, I kept meditating on excerpts from Matthew 6:25 -34* especially vss. 27 and 34 where vs. 27 says 'you can't add an hour to your life by worrying' and vs. 34 says 'each day has its own trouble.'

And that's where the ticket is.  Somehow in the last year, last month, last week, I stopped looking at things as a 'trouble', but started looking at things as a growth opportunity.

I've come to realize, to walk, and to talk that worrying does not change one thing nor does it make a difference in an outcome.  All worrying does is rehearse your mind, body, and emotions through the turmoil of what is trying to be avoided but going through it anyway as if it is occurring.

I also learned along the way in my studies** that dollar amounts are nothing but numbers with a succession of commas and zeros.  $10 is no different than $1,000,000.  It's the emotion and the mental perception on those two different numbers that bring about the perceived value.  Money is no more than a tool and it does not make a person as a whole better nor does lack of it make a person not so well.  Now this is not to negate the fact that more money creates options, but to say that someone having $10 is no less a person than someone having $1,000,000.

As I watched firework shows over the past four days, those colorful displays symbolized to me the popping of ideas, opportunities, options, door openings. Independence Day is the tearing down of old thoughts, habits, and practices to do and approach things differently. The freedom to do so.

Independence Day is everyday.

Happy Independence Day.

tnd

*Matthew 6:25-34

**Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith and Rev. Karen Russo