Another Way to Think About Independence

I had a yoga teacher who talked about independence as in-dependence, dependence inward as opposed to outward, calling upon an inner reliance/reserve type of thing to create and sustain your sense of self, calm, peace, esteem, equaniminity, and pretty much, well, everything, except for things that you have to rely outward on like say, a really good juicy 4th of July bbq-ed cheeseburger, if you're someone who perhaps, does not know how to cook, let alone fire up a grill. But you get the point.

They talk about this in yoga and spiritual traditions all the time. Maintaining this calm equilibrium regardless of what is happening around you, and the metaphors are endless you know, not getting "tossed around in the storm of circumstances" or "being whipped along the roller coaster of life" and on and on. Point being, it is really freakin' hard to do this, regardless of all the poetry and metaphors involved.

So you know how, on New Year's, you take some time to reflect about the year that has passed, and/or the year to come, and you make some resolutions, and you break most of them by January 15th but at least you tried, and that is better than nothing? Well, in that tradition, I thought that today would be a good day to reflect on cultivating my very own in-dependence. And hey, maybe I will watch the fireworks tonight and feel all warm-and-fuzzily peaceful and equanimous and bursting with an inner calm and a fully realized sense of self-esteem, and then wake up tomorrow and worry how my hair looks, and wonder if my outfit is appropriate for where I'm going, or if my writing is any good, or if I accidentally offended someone, or if everyone I know hates me, or has the potential to hate me and they just don't realize it yet, but at least I am trying, and I continue to try...

Happy In-Dependence Day, Everyone!

xoxo!

Jen G.