Fireworks And Your Inner Independence

A few years ago, I was watching the Fourth of July fireworks boldly splashing their colors in the sky. The kid in me, struck by their exquisite shapes and patterns, was “ohh-ing,” and “ahh-ing,” along with the New York crowd gathered by The Hudson Bay. All of us had turned into children at play, wrapped in a magical moment. I was grateful for being independent, here in the United States, and maybe more importantly, in my heart. 

My Expanded Self was filled with a sense of deep gratitude for my journey in the United States – a journey filled with challenges and victories. I was experiencing a state of wholeness and inner liberation. Each of our journeys towards an open and expanded state is an ongoing mystery that unravels deeper layers of insights, discoveries, and realizations.

For example, a few years ago, when I visited Israel and Ireland. I found that every time I step out of my daily activities and into newness, I am given an opportunity to stretch and uncover a part of myself that may not be awakened in the context of the “regular me.”

I would like to share how I discovered a bit of an Irish in me. Think of your heart as a planetary jigsaw puzzle (your soul as a cosmic one). The pieces of the puzzle include different cultures, countries, vistas, foods, songs, arts, etc. When you visit a new place, that piece of the puzzle settles within you, and your heart has an opportunity to experience it. Ireland, with its majestic and raw nature and peaceful, untouched cliffs, meadows, and bays, opened me to the Celtic mystique within. I could imagine myself roaming the fairylands barefoot, immersed in nature’s comfort and bliss. 

In my daily life, I eat mainly raw vegan food. I don’t drink alcohol or coffee, and you would rarely find me in a pub. In Ireland, I was happy eating potatoes, fish and chips, buttered scones, and brown bread. I was sipping Irish coffee and even tasting a pint of Guinness – not at all, the “regular me.” I sang in pubs, danced, clapped, and was silly. It was wonderful to feel Irish. That is what I mean by inner independence, freeing us from ourselves (even when our self is a very well-balanced whole self).

My advice is: always take journeys. They can be two hours long, or two months – just take them, they are liberating. Do you have any liberating plans for this coming 4th of July?