On this Independence Day, it is my tradition to reread the Declaration of Independence penned by the founders of our great country over two hundred years ago. Aside from the florid language in which it is written, something that is so compelling in this as of Twitter, I’m impressed by the expression of freedom, or inalienable right to freedom. And yet, with all of our abilities as a nation, a free people, it seems that we are bound by a constant yearning for more, never satisfied in the present. And then as if manifest from the ether, I read this quote this morning:

“In America I saw the freest and most enlightened people placed in the happiest circumstances that the world affords. Yet it seemed to me as if a cloud habitually hung upon their brows, and I thought them serious and almost sad, even in their pleasures. In the United States, people build houses in which to spend their old age, and they sell them before the roof is on; they plant gardens and sublet them just as the trees are coming into bearing; they bring fields into tillage and leave others to gather the crops; they embrace a profession and give it up; they settle in a place, which they soon afterwards leave to carry their changeable longings elsewhere. They who have set their hearts exclusively upon the pursuit of worldly welfare are always in a hurry, for they have but a limited time at their disposal to reach, to grasp, and to enjoy it.” (Alexis de Tocqueville, 1805 – 1859)

What is ironic about this quote is that while reading it, I was thinking to myself how relevant it is today and timely until I got to the end and realized it was penned almost two hundred years ago! Even at the emergence of our country, an outside person observed the lack of living in the present that robs us of our joys today. Is it not possible to live a life of abundance, of freedom, within the context of what we can readily achieve and enjoy?

I struggle myself with the desires to have more, to be in office in public service, to own more, and to be happy at the same time. It is a balance if have not achieved yet and see myself unhappy at times because of my perceived lack at any given moment. The truth of the matter is that I am truly blessed and have abundance, now, today, and I’m free to enjoy it!