Sep 262017
 

9/24/17

Recently, Constantine and I discussed the idea of independence. The main question behind the discussion was “What does independence mean to you?”. This log entry is a reflection on that discussion.

Well before the discussion, I had ideas about independence, I believed it was important to me. I specifically included it in my holistic goal stating “I want to be independent”.

What did I mean by “be independent” though? When I was creating my holistic goal, I was thinking about my life to that point and what had shaped it, mainly what I had allowed to shape it. I was thinking of my dependence on others, especially financially, and socially. I want to be better equipped to provide for myself and to be more resilient; I want my ship to be ready for the storms ahead and I want to be ready to captain the ship alone if need be, that is what independence means to me.

Con brought up the idea that independence might manifest as freedom from the need of something, I agreed with him and drew parallels to the Buddhist concept of non-attachment. Independence in truest form would freedom from the need of anything. I do not think I will be transcending in this lifetime.

I plan to keep “I want to be independent” in my holistic goal, and focus some of my behaviors and systems on increasing financial and social independence; I think chapter 8 in Ann Adams “At Home With Holistic Management” could definitely help with the financial aspect.

Moving forward, I will continue to think about what independence means to me, and what aspects of independence I am dependent on.

  2 Responses to “Independence – What it means to me”

  1. Hi! Thanks for catalyzing the exploration into the concept, the values related to Independence.
    Have you had any additional insights since the writing of this blog?
    I perused numerous websites as it is a common topic, applied to a variety of arenas.
    Here is one offering I found covered a lot of the bases even if I don’t agree with everything the author puts forth.
    https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2008/05/27/the-value-of-independence/

    • Hi Kathy, thanks for chiming in. I have thought about the concept and values related to independence further.

      Thank you also for doing some research into the matter and providing that article. I perused some as well and noticed some common threads within the articles.

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