It's Friday and if you are like me, you are ready to
get out of the office and start enjoying a festive Fourth of
July weekend!
Last night, as my wife and I were discussing weekend plans
with friend and family, a strange thought occurred to me...
Isn't it a little ironic that we are about to celebrate a day
all about Independence (separation or freedom from control or
influence of others) when it now is really a day that brings
so many of us together? Hotdogs, hamburgers, trips to the
beach or the pool (maybe taking in a Nascar race)... just all
around great times, relaxing with friends and family.
We come together to celebrate the events that took place
back on July 4, 1776, but what we are really celebrating is
not necessarily "independence" itself but rather the
opportunity for "dependence" on each other. Like a teenager
who just got his license and believes he is now free, the
teenager must now depend on someone else to employee him so he
can pay for his gas. He must depend on his friends to act
responsibly while in his car so that he does not get a ticket.
He must depend on himself to keep his grades up or do his
chores in order to avoid getting grounded and loosing car
privileges.
Just like Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, they may have been
celebrating their independence from England but they were also
redefining a new sort of dependence on each other. New laws
were to be made. New social systems were to be put in place.
But mostly, they were going to have to turn to each other in
new ways in order to be a success.
So this weekend as you sit back, relaxing at the pool or as
you gaze up in wonder as the fireworks fill the night sky...
remember that independence is really more about our dependence
on others. Freedom comes with a great deal of responsibility,
most of that being a moral obligation to treat others with
respect and kindness. If we come to learn that we cannot do
everything alone and that we NEED each other, we will see a
shift in our minds that could one day lead us to celebrate a
GLOBAL DEPENDENCE DAY versus just a national day of
independence.
Be safe, have fun and wear sun block!
Your Partner in Kindness,
-Daniel
Kindness. It starts with you, pass it on.
