Independence

Today, my homeland celebrates its 'independence day'. A word that resonates a great deal within my personal system, and I am certain I am not alone. What is Independence?

It is a concept that seems important for many, both on a personal and collective level. From local communities to the global scale, we talk about independent communities, independent organizations, independent governments and countries... we create art, build monuments, start revolutions, wage wars, grant holidays, and celebrate... in short, we do a lot of things in the name of Independence. But why? What exactly is Independence?

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If I were to go into the forest and contemplate concepts like dependence, independence, codependence, interdependence, abundance, etc., what would it reveal?

In reality, on the scale of the ecosystem, the behavior of independence seems to be the least present and least practiced, even non-existent, among the different entities that form and inhabit the forest. Hm. Curious. So why does humanity attach so much importance to this property in our social contexts?

Independence simply allows us to see reality in some form. We can distinguish a tree from an animal because their physical bodies are 'independent' of each other... at least in the form that we can perceive with our senses. But here we are talking about another scale. It's not the scale of the ecosystem, it's a cellular scale, it's at the level of atoms and molecules where it happens. That's where form takes shape.

On the scale of the forest, it's very different. It's interconnected, it's unified, it's coherent as a whole. It's an open system. Physically speaking, the concept of independence means nothing in an open system. And in reality, everything is an open system.

It's just a matter of the interplay of different forces and energies that allow us to see separate things, but in no way independent. Isn't humanity also an open system?

So, what's happening at the level of the human and social system then? Why do we seem to attach so much importance to separating things, ideas, concepts, nations, peoples to make them Independent? What is the origin of this exactly?

Why do we do this? Why do we put so many resources and energy into protecting our independence? Independence from what? From whom exactly?

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Could fear be the origin of our willingness to protect and value our independence? If it's fear, wouldn't it be interesting to further question this concept at the social, collective, and even personal level? If we collectively realize that independence is potentially a big aberration of language and that this phenomenon does not really exist in the real world, what could we talk about instead?

When we talk about independence, are we really talking about a more subtle concept, which may not have a name yet, something that oscillates between freedom, integrity, coherence, respect, sovereignty... and the innate interconnectedness of all things.

Seriously, what are we really talking about when we talk about Independence? When we say 'Happy Independence Day', what does it really mean? What are we celebrating in reality? What are we supposed to wish for if we want to write a postcard for Independence Day to a country?