The Illusion of Independence
There is a great hoax that is perpetrated upon everyone and that is the illusion of independence – thinking that one lives an independent life free from dependency. Our literature and science speak to this independence indicating that we grow from dependency as a child to independence as an adult. However, to a great extent we remain dependent children all of our lives.
Yes, there are instances and situations where we can claim some independence like being free and independent from relying on our parents for our basic needs such as food, clothing and a roof over our heads. While we may be free of our parents’ largesse and love, we are still dependent upon the boss and his/her kindness, the growers of the cotton who make our clothes and the people who actually manufacture them, and all those involved in their distribution including the truckers who carry them to the stores and so on. As far as the “roof over our heads”, we may independently pay the cost of ownership or rent, but imagine all the people involved in making this roof possible starting with the lumberjacks who fell the trees, the people who refine the wood, the contractors that build the actual structure, the carpenters, plasters, electricians, the roofers and all those who in the future will be needed to maintain this home and on and on. Are we independent in this endeavor? Who amongst us builds their own homes or repairs it when required? Speaking of food, just think of all the beings who are involved in the process of growing, distributing, packaging, selling and so on the food we so nonchalantly and independently chose to purchase at the local super market.
Now, coming to other beings think of how dependent we are on our fellow humans. Not only for our parents who without their love and assistance we would never live very long, and to our friends and relatives who love and care for us and fulfill our emotional needs for belonging and emotional nurturance. And all the other beings who make this life on earth livable. All those in government (for the most part) who create an orderliness and a basic civilization that makes for a relatively safe and possible existence. The military and police who defend our very lives, the barber, the farmers, the truck drivers, the electricians, the plumbers, the mailmen, the lawyers, the doctors and nurses, and on and on and on. Just think of all those we are so dependent upon.
We are also most dependent upon things – inanimate objects that make life easier, simpler and so on. Like a can opener, a bottle opener, a dish washer, a clothes washer, our automobile, airplanes, trains, air conditioners, elevators, hair dryers – all the modern and not so modern appliances and gadgets that have been created over the years.
We are dependent upon the cultural and social matrix in which we are embedded and its mores and folkways where we live our lives. Let us not forget, too, our dependence on the very air we breathe, the water we drink, the energy we use to heat our homes and drive our cars, and just think of all the beings that we depend upon to bring these things to us. We are even dependent upon gravity to keep us tethered to this earth. And of course, the sun that creates the very life on this planet, and the greenery we so need to exist. How about our very dependence on this blue/green earth and all it contains that allows life as we know it even to exist.
Truthfully speaking, we always remain children of sorts - children of God as it is said of the all-encompassing Father – The One, who has created all of this marvel, and whom we will always remain dependent upon.
So, where is this independent person? Yes, how we think, feel and act is somewhat in our independent and willful control although this free will, too, is highly contested.* When we think upon it, our claimed independence appears to be most relative and minimal compared to our greater dependency. Our claim as an independent being really appears to exist only in one’s imagination. If one can claim anything it is one’s interdependence with all of life. Really speaking there is no independent “I” at all. This “I” only exists in relationship with all else.
Thankfulness and gratitude should thereby compose a major aspect of one’s personality make-up, and one’s attitude towards life, making manifest the realization of one’s true reliance and dependence on other things and beings for one’s life, health and well-being.
• “Man proposes, God deposes” it is said. The perception that one has independent will is challenged by many including scientists and religious thinkers.
Daoud
for so eloquently speaking to an issue that is near and dear to me.