Happy 4th, Pinkies! Leslee Horner, a Pink Posse member and tomorrow’s Guest Pinkie, passed along a fabulous idea for something to do on this day normally reserved for barbecues and fireworks: write a declaration of our own Pink independence. I couldn’t resist. My declaration (along with many tears) came flowing out of me within minutes. It was more liberating that you could imagine … and a most appropriate day to free yourself from whatever holds you back.
Joy’s Declaration of Independence
On this day, I declare my liberation from all people, spirits, creatures, and energies that are in any way inhibiting me from knowing and trusting myself fully.
I declare emancipation from the vices, junk, and toxic stuff that is keeping me from Owning my Body.
I free myself from the obligations, tasks, to-dos that cut into the sacred time spent with the divine within. No longer will daily meditations be cut short. I vow to defend the quiet moments to commune with spirit and the universe, and to open myself to the bottomless wisdom available to those who are quiet, still, and listening.
I openly and without reserve invite my spirit to inhabit my body, to unite fully, to communicate openly, and in cooperation to steer this Pink ship toward its north star.
I declare freedom from that which has not allowed me to recognize and bow to just how enormous and extraordinary I am.
No longer will I apologize for my existence.
A collage I made recently as a declaration of my starting over
I release the parts of my past that still hold me. I allow the foundation that was built on the approval of others and the path of least resistance to crumble. With shovels of possibility and backhoes of courage, I clear the ground to build a new foundation to hold and sustain the life I want for myself – one full of adventure, creativity, passion, aliveness, and conscious choice.
I burst the dam that has held forth the magnificent expression of my Creativity. The light of the prism of that which needs to come through me shall shine in its colorful and multidimensional splendor on the walls of the world.
It is on this day that I am free from the shrapnel of my life until now – the shards of judgment, self-loathing, obligation, and fear that separate me from me.
I declare myself the United States of Joy. One free spirit, under the Universe, transformed, sent to liberate and love all.
Are you Pinkies ready to declare independence from that which no longer serves you? What does freedom mean to you? I invite you to write your own Declaration of Independence and post it on our Pink Posse blog. It’s SOOOOO liberating!
Wishing you the lightest and most independent of Independence days.
Free to be you and me,
Joy
I am so glad to see that an email I forwarded inspired such a wonderful message and even better that it inspired you to go within in this manner. This was beautiful and I got teary-eyed while reading it. I will have to think of my own “Declaration of Independence.” I know for starters I need to free myself of concern about what others think of me. I know that if I stir something up within another person…even if it is negative…it is probably for their own good and mine too. Anything that makes you feel passionate (whether in a good way or bad way) is meant for you to face!
Lissa,
This is wonderful! I love your Declaration of Independence and will have to write my own. For now I have shared this on my blog and wrote a quick note about how I will spend my Independence day – banging on a drum at the San Diego Women’s Drum Circle!
Thanks again!
Jaime
[...] I found this personal Declaration of Independence at a blog I started following recently. Joy Mazzola writes beautifully, and it could well be my own [...]
Dear Leslee- Thank you so much for the inspiration! And yes, let it empower you to write your OWN Declaration of Independence! I too have some struggles with the stars and stripes. I’m not sure we’re standing for all our forefathers (and foremothers) intended. But Independence Day? I’m all over it. You rock, sister!
And Jaime- where were you when I lived in San Diego for 10 years? I’d have been so all over your drum circle (in fact, I brought my favorite Native-American crafted handmade drum to our Pink Posse gathering in Marin this week and we had a helluva time banging the shit out of it. You go girl! Bang that drum, embrace that Independence, and GO FOR IT!
Happy 4th to you all. For me, it’s yet another opportunity to take a relatively mundane event like July 4 (uh, fireworks and beer…love the fireworks, hate the beer) and turn it into gold. Today, I rode rollercoasters at the Marin County Fair, and once again, I’m inspired by the simple act of overcoming fear and all that means.
Wishing you loads of mojo at your drum circle, Jaime. In my experience, there’s something about the rhythm that puts in touch with something deeper within ourselves and within our drumming communities. GO THERE (as I know you will) and let it take you someplace new, exciting, and INDEPENDENT!
xoxo
Lissa
Love the Declaration of Independence! Joy, you are an amazing writer and an incredible person. Your Declaration is truly inspirational. I look forward to reading more of your posts…
Isn’t Joy the best? I love her writing. It’s why I asked her to take a Pleap (Pink leap of faith) by quitting her stable job to come work with me to create Owning Pink. She is such an incredible asset, and an even more amazing human.
I’m soooo inspired by what all is here on this site. It’s like it’s tailored perfectly to me. I’ve been fighting for and striving for my “pink” for what seems like forever through creative expression (see web-store @ http://www.cafepress.com/happyhippymama) and fearless dedication to compassion where obviously needed. Why do I use the term “fearless” you may wonder… Toxic, negative people have plagued my life from the get-go, and gently stepping around them has become a practiced art and skill. On occassion I have however, tripped. That’s where the fear comes in. Being dragged down where the “toxics” dwell, having to fight my way back up out of the drama-trauma that is their own self-made “everyone is bad and stupid” world causes a temporary loss of control over living what I know is right. A temporary side-trip consumed in the constant defense of my comfortable, inviting universe of sanity, common sense and happy compassion. Sadly, it’s a universe they seem incapable of seeing at all, let alone understand. So sad… My wish is to teach those who can’t see it yet to see it, understand it and believe in it. Maybe that can’t be… Lord knows I’ve tried very hard, mostly with the unfortunate soul I -ooops!- married before I recognized all that negative energy spewing forth from him. In fact I’ve tried so hard that I’m convinced that I have indeed made all the effort that is possible to make with this person. I’ve cut my losses and moved on from him emotionally. I’ll be physically moving as soon as I’ve saved enough of the sales proceeds from my new web-store. I know I’ll make it because I’m completely positive in nature but, please, please, please, wish me luck anyway fellow “PINKIES!”
Oh, Denise, I hear ya, sister. I too had to cut my losses from a toxic marriage. Somehow I attracted a guy who seemed like the light, lovely, free spirited hippy sort. But what I realized was that the facade he wore brilliantly covered some deep, dark, abusive anger, and the more I tried to let my light shine, the more it brought out his dark side.
Truth is, you can’t “teach” another person to be loving and whole- we must each find that path on our own. So while you can lead by example, sometimes, sadly, our own joy triggers the junk in others. I know I felt like I had failed when I had to throw in the towel on that marriage, but I try to live my life without regret. I can now look back with my retrospectoscope and see that it was absolutely critical to my personal awakening to walk through the muck with that guy, so that I could see very clearly the path ahead.
Shortly after I dissolved my marriage, I met a gem of a guy, who I would not have been ready for had I not prepared by dealing with my divorce. You already have it, but I wish you health, joy, peace, wholeness, independence from guilt, fear, doubt, and anxiety, and interdependence on those who lift you up and let you shine your beautiful light.