"All mankind...being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions."As humans we like to think we're independent of others, that we choose our own path. But do we really?
~John Locke
Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it reaches the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which we live. Man's life is independent. He is not born for the development of society alone, but for the development of his self."
~B. R. Ambedkar
"Every human has four endowments - self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change."
~Stephen Covey
"Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the dangers of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity. And on issues that seem important to you, stand up and be counted at any cost."
~Chauncey Depew
Our society is composed of colonies that we call cities. Much like ant colonies or bee colonies, we work together to build, to create families, to find our way. Construction companies have CEOs, CFOs, COOs, managers, supervisors, superintendents and laborers. They work together to create a building or mall or home where others can go about their lives.
Families are a combination of individuals who communicate and compromise, work and play, argue, plan, support each other, and evolve together...or not. If any element of a family relationship crumbles and the communication and support are not there, with the inability to find common ground, a divorce may ensue.
While I like to imagine I'm an independent thinker, I know my life has been fashioned from many different sources: family, books, movies, culture, friends, enemies, politics, marriage, divorce, accidents, poverty, wealth, travels, music, classes, religion, speakers, and places I've lived. So how independent am I really.
My blog started out being about how independent I am, but upon thinking it over, I realize how interdependent I am. How about you?
yeah. . .although I think I march to my own drummer. . .definitely interdependent!
ReplyDeleteI have always considered myself independent, but as I age I can see how we are interdepenedent. I do believe it is extremely important to be self reliant though!
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