Celebrating Who We Are Becoming

Some people believe this weekend is about celebrating the past.

Some of us will spend time this weekend remembering how our country began. We will pay tribute to men and women who sacrificed for the sake of independence. We will feel nostalgic for what we think were simpler, better times. We will be grateful for generations before us who made our lives possible.

We will grill hotdogs and watch fireworks, rocking in our chairs.

I believe much of that looking backward is a mistake.

It is not wrong to learn the lessons of history. It is a mistake to allow our past to define us today, or tomorrow.

This is not a weekend about the past. This is a weekend about our future.

Our independence no longer needs the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Our independence today, and tomorrow, relies on who we are becoming.

The people who argued, and fought, for independence 240 years ago were not superheroes. They were real people who saw their own potential. They knew who they were, in their truest selves, and knew who they could become.

It takes a great deal of courage to work so hard for something we cannot hold in our hands. It takes commitment, belief, and strength. Those people did not become the way they were overnight. They practiced those skills, and practiced believing they had them.

After their battles had been fought, they needed to continue.

Our independence relies more on who we are becoming than who they had been. As much as we remember people who have inspired us, we recognize our own potential.

Each day, we celebrate who we can become.

Who do you have the potential to become?

How will you practice celebrating who we are becoming this week?

[Image by Mobilus In Mobili]