Gordon Clay here. Next Friday is the 4th of July commonly known as Independence Day commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. That happened over 230 years ago.

You may choose to go see a fireworks display, have a barbeque or picnic or take a three-day holiday and travel.

On this day, however, maybe it's time to look at your own lives. At our own independence. Are you independent or in-dependence?

After a few weeks or months, most baby animals are ready for independence. Humans spend nearly a quarter of their lives just getting ready. If we're lucky, our families help us to grow straight, so we can stand on our own.

Growing up means learning to make decisions that are right for us, in tune with the larger design we have for our lives. Growing up also means taking responsibilitiy for the decisions we make when they happen to turn out to be the wrong decisions.

Even when our families aren't able to give us the best start in life, we have the power to remake choices, rechoose activities and companions that will grow along with us. Our human parents may be precious loved ones or they may be strangers; the aim of our search for self-knowledge is the power to parent ourselves, independently of our parents or others.

We'll always want other people for compansionship, love and cooperative work, but the opperative word there is "want" versus "need" someone else. We "need" steady nurturing all our lives, and no other person can supply it.

Ira Eisenstien said "Freedom means the right to be different, the right to be oneself." So, how's your independence going?