False Independence

Being independent is always seen as one of the perks in becoming an adult. Sometimes, we even gain false confidence from the thought that we are independent. But, are we really independent?

In life, we are always dependent on something or someone. For instance, we depend on our employer to pay our salary on time. We depend on our families to be a support in troubled times. We even depend on the transport system to reach work on time. Dependence is normal. It is not only subjected on humans but on everything that exists. Pets depend on the owners to feed them. Wild animals depend on the availability of natural resources (environment, food, water). In actual fact, we are interdependent. There is a cobweb of dependence that links everyone and everything together!

The misplaced confidence that we get from thinking we are "independent" is destructive. I believe it is one of the roots of arrogance. Instead of being grateful, we sometimes attribute the success to ourselves leading to excessive self-pride and forgetting our roots.


Within any monotheistic religion (the belief in only one God), the dependence is only to the one God. This is because the one God is the creator of everything that exists. I as a human am a creation of God. Rather than putting my dependence on other creations (e.g. sun, moon, fire, water, animals, other humans), I place my trust and dependent entirely on the creator, God. To me, it is the most logical conclusion. Without my religion, I would be lost.