I have had to let go of acquiring millions of dollars because some nut called as I slept to check if I was sleeping – and then had the nerve to apologize for waking me up and then hanged up. Sometimes I wake to “are you sleeping?” as if the words I utter into the phone are of a dialect from another planet.
Last night, a malign spirit crept into my dreams and now I wish someone would have awakened me up. Too bad no one did.I used to think that successful people – and countries – are likely to be independent beings. I used to believe that all of the voting citizens of Palau are as independent as any soul on earth could be, but the dream changed my belief.Independence is defined as the capability of thinking or acting without consultation with or guidance from others – this is a thought reserved for westerners.If you are a Palauan you are not independent; and for as long you live – unless otherwise you change you citizenship and cease to participate in the cultural activities – you will never be.Palauans have survived through the ages, as interdependent people. They have relied on each other for survival. They have cheered together in feats of victories and mourned together in defeat. No one in Palauan history has ever stood alone.I could never think of a single day in my life when I was independent. All that I have done involved inputs of friends, relatives, and even sworn enemies – whether I liked it or not.If you are Palauan, can you think of a day in your life that you could have claimed to be independent of anyone? If you could, I surely like to know how managed the feat; and please, do not tell me it is the time when you are most free – when taking a crap!It has been said, “No man is an island, and no man stands alone.” Whoever said is absolutely right as far as I am concerned. Palauans can’t live alone.As we celebrate Palau’s independence, lets all dream that we would never be independent of one another. If you can’t dream it, take a pill and go to sleep.I guess George Bernard Shaw had dreamt a similar dream when he said: “Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.”
