Although today, the 4th of July, may bring to the forefront the conflicts that we have had to face in this time of Pandemic, this morning I woke up to the excitement of a pop-up parade announcement. A neighbor had just text the last minute announcement! We hurriedly dressed the kids in red, white and blue, found our masks and ran outside to wave and cheer the city's car parade rolling down our street. It was a touching testimonial to the creativity that hides in crisis.
Depending on where you live and the intensity of the Covid -19 surges, the day may be celebrated with an affirmation of tradition: picnics, barbecues, patriotic parades and fireworks. But there are many protests, "boycotts", and counter protests planned. While in those areas currently on the verge of Pandemic crisis, public events have been cancelled; many of us will be watching virtual fireworks. Inevitably, others will ignore the Covid-19 mandates to seek crowded parties and excitement. Through all these differences, we as a people strive to define and re-define American freedom as the devastating Pandemic continues to run wild.
To maintain a spiritual focus (and a center of calm that attends it), July 4th is a time to consider a spiritual perspective on freedom and independence. I have continued to emphasize our interdependency as we move through the Pandemic. This is a global Pandemic. The spiritual recognition of interdependency as a given in life is extremely important for the collective spirit needed for all of life to heal. Yet, each person is unique. The quality of uniqueness of the individual, contributes to the whole. Spiritual freedom is the freedom inherent in uniqueness that at the same time, is aware of itself as a partial expression of the Allness of life. It is that quality of life's expression that is not dependent on changing society to conform to oneself, nor changing oneself to conform to society. It simply is. So with spiritual freedom we step outside the struggle with the social order of things, and yet, we play our part. (Susan Nettleton)
To look at different sides of this kind of freedom, follow these links from our website:
https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/6/25/spiritual-freedom (Larry Morris)
https://hillsidesource.com/affirmation-prayer-for-freedom-from-the-past (Susan Nettleton)
https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/3/24/spiritual-independence (Larry Morris)