The Declaration of Independence severed the 13 American colonies’ ties with Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence committee included: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. After 86 changes to the initial draft of the document, which was drafted mostly by Thomas Jefferson; the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the final version of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.1 This month, I have used ‘independence’ as a theme and allowed persons to respond to the prompt: ‘What Do You Want to Declare Independence From?’ I received the most compelling responses. In the last installment of this series, I am presenting a Declaration written by a 28-year old male:
We live in a time of social and economic Darwinism. Only the loudest, most vocal, and opinionated stay afloat with the new realm of social media. Furthermore, the majority of individuals, including myself at this current moment, are barely maintaining their existence with the small purse they have. Inflated credit card statements, living paycheck to paycheck, or just not finding ways to afford the life they desire, people remain at the bottom of the economic chain perpetuating the endless cycle of be employed, be a consumer, be in debt. Enough is enough! I refuse to succumb to the ease of not aspiring for greatness. Time to eternally adopt Mamba Mentality. Ascending towards both personal soulful fulfillment and financial freedom for generations is the only option. My Declaration of Independence is from all Financial and Social Shackles so that I may inspire others while also living an abundantly wealthy life filled with love. – MMN
Beloved, as I write this, I have declared my independence from fear of rejection, from allowing others’ criticism to upset me and my subtle desire to be accepted by everyone. I am reminded of the words of Aristotle: “the only way to avoid criticism is to say nothing, do nothing and be nothing.” I realize, there is an ample supply of haters we all come in contact with who all come from a dark place of negativity, envy, fear and jealousy. Instead of allowing them to hurt me, I’ve become more confident and comfortable with the gifts, talents and skills God has blessed me with and I am using these gifts, talents and skills to be all that God has called me to be! Certainly, I’m far from perfect, however, the more confident I’ve become, the less influenced I am by other people’s negativity, rejection, envy and jealousy. In fact, criticism and rejection have taught me to always do the best I can in everything I’m asked to do, give my 100 percent in all things, and give the rest to God!
I hope you have benefited from this month’s sequence of articles. I want to thank all persons who contributed to this series. A few persons even remarked the process of identifying the “thing(s)” they need to let go was freeing and therapeutic. Due to the popularity of this series, I plan to run this theme again in July 2021. Watch this column at the beginning of 2021 when submissions will be accepted.
Source: 1 Milwaukee PBS, “The History of America’s Independence Day.”
If you’ve missed any articles in this series, feel free to view the archived digital edition at: https://milwaukeetimesnews.com/category/digital-editions
August: Kids Eat Right Month
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