Today in the United States we celebrate Independence Day.

 

It marks the moment a people declared their right to govern themselves.

 

That is a remarkable thing.

 

The declaration of freedom has inspired generations, and it still inspires me today.

 

But every year (no matter who is in office) I find myself asking another question.

 

Why do we want freedom?

 

What is freedom actually for?

 

For many Americans, freedom is something we’ve always known.

 

That can make it difficult to appreciate.

 

How do you fully value something you’ve rarely had to live without?

 

The United States is an extraordinary country, but it also has its problems.

 

Some people believe life might be better somewhere else.

 

Others think it’s almost unpatriotic to say that.

 

I’m not a grass is greener type and I don’t believe in running from our problems. (and it doesn’t work)

 

I also don’t think it’s unpatriotic to say we have problems.

 

I think it’s honest.

 

And honest questions are worth exploring because they often lead us to something valuable.

 

Perhaps what inspires us about Independence Day isn’t simply that we became independent, but that independence is an invitation.

 

It’s a reminder that there is still work to do.

 

Independence is a blessing when we have grown enough to take responsibility for our own lives and each other.

 

We don’t simply outsource that responsibility to the government or to anyone else.

 

We build families, communities, and institutions that help people flourish.

 

Freedom and laws are not enemies. We need both. But above all, we need trust.

 

Unfortunately, trust has been broken again and again—not only by politicians, but by each of us in our own ways.

 

We definetly have work to do.

 

Unless we begin to value every human life, not just our own, we’ll eventually forget what our freedom was meant to accomplish.

 

Without that vision, freedom becomes little more than permission to pursue comfort.

 

I sometimes wonder if part of our polarization comes from the fact that we’ve conquered so much of the external world.

 

This isn't just a U.S. problem it's a worldwide problem.

 

We’ve harnessed incredible technology.

 

We’ve made life safer, easier, and more comfortable than previous generations could ever have imagined.

 

Yet instead of embracing greater challenges, we keep going in the same direction we always have to remove every inconvenience.

 

We seek comfort instead of growth.

 

And perhaps that leaves us restless.

 

We declared our independence—but for what?

 

To accumulate the most money?

 

To own the most things?

 

To retire with the largest 401(k)?

 

To consume the best entertainment?

 

To chase pleasure wherever it leads?

 

Suppose we achieved all of that.

 

Then what?

 

Is that the highest use of freedom?

 

Would someone watching from the outside be inspired by the lives we’re building?

 

I believe there’s something greater.

 

I’m profoundly grateful to live in the United States.

 

I’m thankful for the freedoms I’ve been given and for the men and women who sacrificed so that future generations could have them.

 

Sometimes I wonder what they would think if they could see us today.

 

Would they be proud?

 

What would they hope we’d become?

 

I imagine they would want us to use our freedom wisely—not merely to make life easier, but to make life better.

 

To solve meaningful problems.

 

To build strong families and communities.

 

To create lives that inspire others.

 

To let every person have the opportunity to shine.

 

But that's going to take a new way of thinking and that can only be accomplished in each of our hearts.

 

Perhaps we’ve spent centuries mastering the outer world.

 

Now it’s time to master a new challenge...the inner one.

 

There’s a quote often attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin that has stayed with me:

 

“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”

 

I love Independence Day.

 

And I wish inner independence for everyone—not only as a national celebration, but as a way of living.

 

A freedom rooted in inspiration and responsibility of what we each can become.

 

A freedom guided by love.

 

A freedom that makes the world brighter because we were here.

 

Much love and freedom,

 

Bert