Celebrating Independence
What a gorgeous morning here in Brooklyn! We’ve been waiting & waiting for a lovely morning like this, and here is the payoff! A picture-perfect 4th of July!
This holiday when my nation celebrates her Independence is a wonderful reminder to me to celebrate, appreciate and cultivate my independence of thought. More and more as time goes by, I am aware of the media’s attempt to influence my thoughts - and therefore, my experience. This very morning, I heard a blurb on the news about what a great holiday July 4th is, and yet so dangerous! Maybe dangerous for those who are in alignment with it - with handling fire crackers, or swimming out really far at the beach, or eating lots & lots of hot dogs in a very short period of time, but for me, I think my walk in the Park will be just fine. Just fine and glorious.
I have no beef with the media or anyone trying to share some knowledge or information, but it is the constant spin and the language with which they convey their messages that cause me to change the channels.
My lessons lately have been about learning to keep my attention on what I want, on making a daily practice of deciding what kind of day I want (always a good one, so it’s a pretty easy lesson), and finding all sort of things to be appreciative of as I go through my day. Finally, a really important lesson for me is to see the good in as much as I can rather than what I may think of as dis-pleasing. It’s easy enough to start griping because I missed the bus, but what’s good about missing the bus? Or - even more challenging - what’s good when the bus is very late and I’ve been standing at the bus stop for a long time? Can I appreciate good weather, or the time to slow down and rest my body for a few extra minutes in the day? Maybe I get the opportunity to walk along a street I wouldn’t normally walk and therefore see something I might miss as I zip by on the bus. There are so many ways to see the good, it’s just a question of getting in the habit, and as Abraham says, the more we things we see which please us, the more things which please us will come our way.
So for this July 4th, I celebrate the bravery and the conviction of all the “founding fathers” and the people who built this country and the bravery of the men & women who still fight for my right to spend my days any way I choose. I also celebrate and cherish my own independence and freedom to create my own powerful experience and enjoy every minute of it.
Happy Independence Day, everyone!
