| Anne Williamson |
Always curious, even anxious, about what I was meant to do with my life, as a teenager, my parents lovingly took me to a career counselor. The process took nearly all day, as there were numerous interviews, and aptitude and personality tests. Finally, all three of us sat down with the head honcho to hear his analysis of my results. What would he say? Was my vocational destiny finally to be revealed?
It was not. I remember only two things from that conversation. One, he did not say I would one day become an unconventional minister. And, two, he did say I was “neurotically self-reliant.”
It is for this second remembrance that I share this story. I often think our entire society shares my disease. We live in a culture that values independence and self-sufficiency above all else. You might even say we worship it. For all our talk of teamwork, networking, and “it takes a village,” when it comes right down to it, we like to think our doings are (basically) our own.
The problem with this, of course, is that they’re not. Our independence is a myth. Whether it be the privileges granted to us at birth, the Earth that sustains us, or the many systems and people that make what we do possible everyday, none of us is actually self-reliant. Our lives are deeply interconnected. I am, quite literally, because you are.
Turns out, acknowledging our interconnectedness and leaning into it is not only honest, it’s good for our health as well. So, this week, in groups, we’ll be exploring these ideas, as well as the role consumerism plays. We’ll end our time by listening for what our own communities and relationships need now. I’d love to have you join the conversation; sign-up for a group and come check it out this week. Or, if you cannot, this article from Yes Magazine is a thought-provoking place to start.