{"id":15318,"date":"2018-07-08T03:39:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-08T03:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awritersheart.com\/?p=1616"},"modified":"2018-07-08T03:39:58","modified_gmt":"2018-07-08T03:39:58","slug":"celebrate-your-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/08\/celebrate-your-independence\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Your Independence!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make
\nyou something else is the greatest accomplishment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2015 Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last week we celebrated Independence Day, a time for family and friends, barbecues, swimming, fireworks, and whatever makes you feel good.<\/p>\n

But what if you don\u2019t feel free and independent?\u00a0 What if finances, health issues, time, difficult family members or inappropriate living situations weigh on you?\u00a0 How do you celebrate your independence then?<\/p>\n

It might be just the time to stop seeking solutions in the outer world and consider a walk down the inner path. Instead of traditional group activities, you might get more out of a quiet day of hiking in a beautiful place.\u00a0 Or reading an absorbing book, painting, playing with your pets, learning something new, calming your mind.<\/p>\n

But what about that picnic everyone else is going to?\u00a0 Won\u2019t you miss out? Not if you\u2019d rather do something else. Not if your inner self is pining from lack of attention.<\/p>\n

It takes strength to say no to the crowd.\u00a0 You risk being branded as strange, anti-social, a trouble-maker.\u00a0The impulse that leads you to forego the picnic for a solitary walk may result in the happiest unforeseen events.\u00a0 A new friend met by happenstance. A stray dog that longs to comfort you.\u00a0 Perfect light on the river illuminating a fish swimming upstream.\u00a0 The book that will change your life at a garage sale for only a dollar. You could miss a lot at that picnic with people you\u2019ve known your whole life.<\/p>\n

If you long to answer the question posed by the whispering Self\/Soul\/Spirit, you want more than the easy answers provided by popular culture. Instead of Superman flying in to save us from our enemies, we seek the true myth, personified by the age-old gods and goddesses that sing through our blood and inhabit the nether regions of our minds.<\/p>\n

One of my heroes, late writer Ursula K. Le Guin, talks about the difference between true myth and sub-myth, between Zeus and Superman, in her book,\u00a0The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

She quotes a story told by the poet Rilke who, when he gazed at a statue of Apollo, it spoke to him. \u201cYou must change your life,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real mystery is not destroyed by reason. The fake one is. You look at it, and it vanishes. You look at the Blond Hero\u2014really look\u2014and he turns into a gerbil.\u00a0 You look at Apollo and he looks back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Every writer, artist, mystic, and seeker knows that when the true myth rises into consciousness, that is its message: you must change your life. But that’s hard. Maybe you don\u2019t want to. Maybe you\u2019re happy the ways things are. If so, I salute you. But if you wonder what treasure lies buried behind that door you\u2019ve never opened, then consider, what will make you free and independent?<\/p>\n

Go ahead.\u00a0 Open it.\u00a0 Try.\u00a0 All you have to lose are the chains binding you to the past.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2015 Ralph Waldo Emerson   Last week we celebrated Independence Day, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Celebrate Your Independence!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,128,133],"tags":[147,152,153,164,173],"class_list":["post-15318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-writers-heart","category-creativity","category-healing","tag-creativity","tag-healing","tag-healing-the-heart","tag-resistance","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrate Your Independence! - Carol Holland March<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carolhollandmarch.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/08\/celebrate-your-independence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrate Your Independence! 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