Independence Day

July 4th. The day we declared independence from England.The notion of dependence and independence is an interesting thing. It's one thing to apply this to countries and wars, it's another to look at it from a person and relationship issue.I generally strive to be independent; I like to have control over my own outcomes. At the same time I know that I have a real need for more connections than I generally have. I suppose much of that is due to shyness, but at the same time a lot is just how I'm wired. I know I have a tendency to easily form relationships -- but at the same time I know I need to spend more time maintaining them too.It's a quandary. I like to be self-consistent but this somehow is a place I'm having trouble with -- the conflict between self-reliance and independence and the need to have people I can open up to. I realize how screwy this sounds, but hey, I guess that's just me.