Day 22: How much does your car mean to you? Freedom's just another word for something left to lose...

This may sound shallow or be difficult for some to understand  but now that I am back in NY,  I get to see my car.  My car is like an old friend that I cannot wait to see.  I foolishly left her, (yes, aren't all cars a she?) back in January at the advice of a friend in another friend's garage while I was living in Florida. (So far away...) I did have some access to another vehicle while I was down there but that vehicle came with lots of strings attached.


Now that I am back, I can literally think of nothing else this morning but seeing my car on my first full day on Long Island.  Anyone living here knows you must have a vehicle to live on LI. Public transportation is limited; very limited!  But more than just seeing my old friend; I am regaining a personal freedom that was lost, albeit temporarily; (6 months can seem like an eternity when you feel as though you have been stripped of a familiar freedom.)


Freedom is an important concept to me;  independence is another and I feel like I lost some of my independence these past 6 months. Although I actually got  used to the practice of being dependent; it never seemed to sit well with me until I gave the concept sincere thought.  


There is nothing like the loss of a personal freedom to remind you of how incredibly important this freedom is to you.


When you are an  exceptionally independent person, as I am, being dependent upon another, any other person, is a difficult pill to swallow.   This was an eye opening experience for me that I needed.  When you evaluate your life experiences, you need to see the benefits and wisdom that may be acquired from the total range of life's learning opportunities (which are both comfortable and uncomfortable).


I was, in actuality, too independent.  Is that possible?  In order to bond with another person,  I mean really bond, you have to do more than exchange bodily fluids (too graphic??).  You have to exchange freedoms and independence.  You have to openly and contractually learn to agree to be dependent upon each other. Until that happens, a true bond has not be reached.


Joe and I are bonded not by paper but by dependence and independence; by life; by want, by need; by transportation, by living accommodations, by family. We have given up the most valuable human condition to each other and are learning to accept and support each other in our bond.


This ain't easy folks and I think the result will be a lifetime of exchanges of freedoms, losses, wins and more. I will be a better person as a result.  Did I just commit myself; I am not sure but I am happy.