Passionate Theme of the Day: Interdependence

“July marks the celebration of Independence Day. Many these days are calling for a higher evolution beyond independence into a full recognition of our interdependence.

Independence keeps us thinking of ourselves as separate and isolated rather than deeply intertwined, as ecological and scientific work is increasingly revealing.” ~ Stephen Dinan in the July issue of iShift e-zine for Institute of Noetic Sciences

Happy almost 4th of July! As I read the above quote in the latest issue of iShift e-zine, I was struck by the idea of interdependence. 

I’ve always loved the 4th of July. Tomorrow we celebrate our independence as a country from Great Britain. Yet, upon deeper reflection during those early days in our blossoming country, much interdependence and collaboration had to take place to ground us in our current systems.

For our founding fathers to write:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

…they had to work together. Yes, they were claiming their independence from GB, yet there was a significant amount of relying on one another as a team to put the plan of action together, to write the documents and make choices that altered history.

This got me thinking about independence vs. interdependence. Who can we rely on to help us take our own lives to the next level? What people can help us remove an old, played out monkey from our backs? To help us stretch and grow and reveal our new, stronger, more authentic self?

Who might you rely on to be a core member of your foundational team? Who are your support people? Your cheerleaders? Those folks that you know you can rely on when you experience a dip in motivation, esteem, inspiration, or creativity?

Perhaps you have people in your life that are not supportive of you. Maybe you’d like to reach outside of your comfort zone and take a risk. Make a move. Start a new business. Create a new healthy lifestyle involving fitness and nutrition.

If you want to eat healthy and work out, hanging out with friends that want to go to happy hour and eat and drink at the bars every weekend, probably won’t serve your purpose. If you’re looking to start a new business, but surrounding yourself with naysayer’s and negative Nelly’s…you’re not going to be supported enough to last very long.

What people nurture you? Who supports you in your many colored ways? Can you identify them? Is it family members, friends, co-workers, or a minister or coach?

Declare this July your interdependence month. Identify 5 core people that you’d like to reach out to for deeper support. Make a list and contact these people. Let them know you need their help to contribute to your bigger vision. Ask them how you might support them in their creative endeavors. Try an integrity blitz and hold each other accountable for getting things done.

An integrity blitz can be done by calling each other (let’s say you start the clock at 6pm on Thursday) and then declaring what task you’ll each take care of for one hour. Say you want to clean up the junk mail on the counter and organize it into your filing system.

Your friend wants to clean out the kid’s toy box and create a pile for donation. You “tag” each other by phone, set a timer for one hour and then call each other back after to share how easy it was knowing you had supportive, nurturing energy out there in the big ol’ Universe just for you.

It’s so much easier to reach out and ask for support from people that we know are on board and looking out for our greatest good. Don’t try getting support from those people in your life that don’t understand the new “thing” (or whole new you) you are trying to create. Simply let them off the hook. Release your expectations for them to “get it”. Identify those folks that will love you, nurture you, support you and honor your need for personal growth.

Enjoy this fun holiday and PLAY time built into our summer season. I am grateful for the many people that support and nurture me and my need to break out of the mold. The readers, friends and online pals I’ve made thru writing here on the PMP have allowed me to unfold, shift, twist and turn without judgment, ridicule or persecution. Now that’s what I call living “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Peace and sonic-booming-bottle-rocket-sparkler celebrations to you,
Kam