Walker: Independence and the Struggle to Find Independence
The moral case for trying to be independent if you can manage it.
Author’s Note: I recently had the opportunity to guest write for someone else, so if you’re interested, go check it out here.
How independent should you be?
For most people, it's hard to know exactly where the line should be. They like the idea of having options available to them and to take the time to choose the right one. At the same time though, they don't like to have too many options to consider. The more decisions you have to make, the harder it is to decide what the right one might be. So you can't have unlimited options in front of you. However, if you have not enough options, people feel locked in. They feel forced to make choices from what often end up being the worst ones. Which means you have to find some type of balance between the two. Figuring out what the right amount is really can be hard to know unless you have at least some.
One of the ways in which you can do that is by striking out on your own. Leaving the comfort and safety of your family home and doing things for yourself. In such a situation, you get to eat what you want, when you want, at whatever time you want. You can choose to sleep where you want and with whoever you want. There's no one to stop you from making this choice. Being in such a situation lets you recognize the power of independence in your life. Everything is an opportunity to make whatever you want happen. It can be a powerful experience. You know that people aren't going to influence any decisions you're making. The feelings you have are your own and no one else's.
Yet even in these circumstances you need other people. Very few of us can live out in the desert or in the woods all by ourselves. We need someone to build a home you can live in and allow you to invite people over to it. You can't always hunt, catch and cook your own food. Most people need someone else to do those things for them. This isn't very independent, or at least total independence. There are no opportunities for unlimited options. If you ask for something, they might not want to give it to you. It could get to the point that you might have to steal or hurt other people in order to take what you need. Which is a kind of independence, but it's also going to create limitations. The more you do it, the less the people around you will want to help you out.
Walker: Independence is very much about finding that line between depending on other people and making your own choices. Abby Walker, as played fantastically by Katherine McNamara, is striking out on her own. She had wanted to do this with her husband and move to the town of Independence. But other people had other plans. People attacked her and her husband. As a result, she has to find a way to live without what she was expecting. Because whoever attacked her didn't get caught, she has to hide her true intentions and her interests from other people. She even has to find common cause with criminals in order to get what she wants.
It restrains her independence but at the same time gives her a chance to explore new things and do things she wouldn't otherwise know how to do.
Do yourself a favour and explore the struggle to find independence by checking out Walker: Independence as soon as you can.
Walker: Independence is available on Max in the United States and GlobalTV as well as StackTV in Canada.