Interdependence is the yin to independence's yang.

On July 4th, we invited everyone to do their own declarations of independence and it was an awesome exercise.

My declaration was mind-blowing. I had no idea that some part of me felt I was still playing "small" in life - especially my work - and wanted to be released from that. I play pretty big and yet, this exercise told me "NOPE! Not enough yet!" :-) I also didn't realize I needed independence from the seriousness I've created in my life of play and creativity ;-) My favorite part of all was this really incredible surge of strength and love by declaring my independence this way. It felt really powerful and good - a Wonder Woman-like setting of boundaries. That was cool and unexpected. Can't wait to hear about your experience! So now that we've declared our INDEPENDENCE... how about we embrace our INTERDEPENDENCE, or maybe a better word is our INTERCONNECTEDNESS. ;-) This is the Yin to Independence's Yang. Just like light doesn't exist without darkness, freedom and independence doesn't exist without connection and inter-dependence. As an example, someone who chooses to go into the "wild" (might mean starting their own business all the way to homesteading in the middle of nowhere) becomes free from a lot, and also becomes much more inter-dependent on other factors, such as resources, time, the elements, supply shipments, etc. It's ironic, isn't it, that our ability to be independent is highly impacted by our interdependence and vice versa? The invitation today is to recognize and honor your interconnectedness, whatever it is that supports you in whatever it is you're creating in your life. STEP 1: Grab a big piece of paper and something to write/draw with. STEP 2: Take a moment to notice and explore what it is that creates and supports your freedom, your joy. STEP 3: Represent that on your paper somehow. Write the words down. Draw yourself (stick figure is just fine ;-) on ground supported by these ideas. Cut out images and/or words from magazines and create a collage. This can be as simple or as "big" as you want it to be. STEP 4: Put that somewhere you can see it often. Here's the point of this. Yes, it's important to know what we want to be free of and declare our independence, to set really clear boundaries for ourselves. We don't want to over focus there, however, because we are then focusing our attention on what we don't want. In mountain biking, you learn quickly (and painfully) to focus on where you want to go, not what you want to avoid. By honoring and celebrating what supports our freedom, our independence from whatever it is that holds us back, we create forward. We naturally move in the direction of what we want to create rather than what we want to avoid, and we build our gratitude for that which sustains us and helps us grow. And that, my beautiful friends, is powerful stuff!