This year has been quite a wild ride for most everyone I’ve talked with (yes, I realize that’s an understatement).

My Aunt, who is in her 80s, fell and broke her femur in late September. She had to navigate surgery and recovery during a pandemic, which is very different than just a year ago.

It was stressful.

Like many of our elders, she was worried that she’d lose her cherished independence.

Quester’s answer when she shared that fear with him was, “well, none of us are truly independent.”

It’s true. We’re interdependent. 

Even those who live alone rely on farmers, food producers, grocery store workers, delivery service people, and others to provide things they need each day.

Many of us do share our homes and lives with other people (including four-leggeds!).

We like to think that we’re independent, individual beings, particularly here in the modern Western world.

But we’re not.

You help others in your life: partners, children, parents, friends, neighbors, pets, employers, employees, acquaintances, and sometimes even strangers.

That part of the equation is easier to accept for many people. You want to feel useful, competent, and like you’re being of service.

That’s only part of the picture, though.

You receive help from these other beings, all the time – as much as you will allow it. That’s not even counting the non-physical realm: angels, spirit guides, animal totems, and the unseen others who guard and guide us.

And you’re also interwoven with all the plants, animals, insects, birds, waters, and minerals that make up the Earth.

Acknowledging your interdependence is key to thriving.

It is the interplay of giving and receiving that forms the main steps of the dance of life.

Even if you’re in a place where you’re not able to see your loved ones right now, they are there for you, as you are for them.

Give thanks for interdependence, and the web of life that allows us to continue to live and grow and experience life on this amazing planet Earth.