We live in times where the influential concept of independence has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives. Our early education systems want children to become independent at younger ages. Our post-secondary systems claim to form independent thinkers for the world of business and career paths that seem to reward independence.
While I don't deny there is a place for some level of independence, I think it has too often been pushed to its limit and has been found lacking. Independence ultimately separates, divides and risks dissolving our foundational need for healthy community. Ironically, healthy community is the only place where independence can continue to exist at any level.
I write these thoughts as I sit in a Jesuit retreat center in Montreal,
where I am part of a leadership team of a silent retreat for L'Arche assistants/caregivers from all across Canada. Many L'Arche assistants have come from independencefocused schools or work situation and have chosen to live in community with people with developmental disabilities.
Very often this choice has transformed their lives, opening them to adopt a stance of inter-dependence, recognizing, valuing and celebrating every person. It is a radical shift that proves to be far more practical than the extremes of either dependence or independence.
Churches, when lived truthfully and faithfully, are also local examples of healthy inter-dependent communities. Check it out. You may be surprised.
