Almost a quarter of a millennium ago people of this country gave a big middle finger to an oppressing power and broke free (well in a nutshell haha) – the change was huge and irrevocable, the sacrifices enormous, but the result was worth EVERY bit of pain!!

I came to this country almost 20 years ago because I felt that here I could truly be free, as a human being, regardless of my gender, age, ethnicity, beliefs. And I was right. Yes, there are social rules, and opinions, and judgement, but they push back in a face of true strength of character and determination. The walls of the spiritual prison are rather fluid. They seem to be there, but they really aren’t. Too much is going on. Too many constant infusions. USA is still a kid, is still growing, and therefore has hope. Happy birthday to the country I now call home! Sometimes you frustrate the crap out of me, but I always feel GRATEFUL!

But back to you my gorgeous warriors, if you haven’t done it already – do it today – give a big middle finger to what society expects of you, to the opinions, expectations, and judgements of others, to your past failures, setbacks, and pain. Break free from depending on others for happiness and validation. Get to know yourself every day, love yourself, validate yourself. Be an independent thinker, speaker, feeler, and doer. Learn from EVERY ONE you meet, and EVERY THING that happens around you. Clean up the crowd of people around you, get rid of toxicity and negativity, build your support net. Simplify your life. Build an unshakeable core that allows you to be vulnerable yet strong and resilient. And this is pretty much how you achieve true FREEDOM and INDEPENDENCE, get to plug into the UNIVERSAL energy, and have a truly fulfilling life.

This won’t happen overnight – this is a choice and commitment you must make every single day over a period of time, until it just becomes part of who you are. Somewhere along the way you will fall, you will need help, but you will eventually prevail, and be on a completely different level of experiencing life. Guaranteed. Remember, no matter what happens, you have YOURSELF to count on! And me!!! So, make this day count – let today be the anniversary day for your own FREEDOM!

Happy INDEPENDENCE day to YOU!

~By Amalia Logunova,  life coach and super mom

As a mom, do you ever look around and think how in the world can you ever keep a tidy and organized home?  Well, it all starts with extra clutter and having items you either don’t use, have forgotten about, or just plainly do not like anymore.  Perhaps your home is not too small for your ever growing family, but perhaps you just have too much stuff!

I get it, you may have sentimental memories tied to specific items or you may be fighting the fear that once you get rid of it you may suddenly need it.  But in reality if you haven’t used it for some time, you were doing just fine without it.

I realized that I didn’t really need that much clothes when I moved into an apartment that did not have big closets and I needed to purge and downsize on my wardrobe.  But guess what?  I didn’t even miss the items I donated or gave away to Salvation Army.  In fact, it felt liberating.  I was free from the weight of finding space or wondering how I will fit my newly purchased items.  All the clothes I wore and enjoyed on a consistent basis were neatly hung up or folded away.   Periodically I continue to review my clothes and donate or gift the clothing that I’m no longer wearing.  Same goes for your husband’s and childrens’ closets…you don’t realize how much space you can free up just by keeping a tidy closet.  All of a sudden you have extra storage space for suitcases, bed linens, or pillows.

You know what else we have too much of?  Paper.  We tend to hold on to old magazines, paid bills, unopened mail, and books we haven’t opened in 10 years.  And sadly we don’t often recycle these items.  Not that we don’t want to, but just the fact that we do not have the facilities to do that.  Most of these items end up in the land fill.  I came to the conclusion for myself to take advantage of the ability to receive and pay bills online, the freedom to read books and articles digitally, and to use my downtime to go through my mail.  Donate the children’s books your child has long grown out of to your local library, and use your husband’s stacked up newspapers as kindling to start that bonfire in your back yard.

Our basements, attics, and garages are guilty of hoarding useless junk or just plain excess.  These additional spaces are fantastic when it comes to containing your children’s toys that they are still playing with, exercise equipment, or other necessary items.  So use them wisely to free up the living space within your home.  Hold a tag sale, donate, or make some extra cash by selling on Ebay everything you do not want or have doubles and triples of.  Often times when moving from one house to another, we don’t even really unpack all the way.  The intent to go through it all at a later date may come and go and you realize you have already purchased a second toaster or coffeemaker.

Get rid of anything that’s broken and that you have no intention of fixing, or if the repair will cost more than it’s worth.  Some examples are worn out shoes, CD’s that just won’t play, and outdated electronic gadgets.  Technology changes so quickly today, that you are better off buying a new version of it rather than trying to fix it.

It’s hard to downsize, simplify, or eliminate when our mindsets have been set on acquiring, purchasing, and just plain more, more, and more.   The media, culture, and modern way of life unfortunately can lead to the clutter in our homes.  Try simplifying and paring it down to basics, which will allow you to focus on quality time with your family, rather than cleaning, managing, and organizing the various messes.

I have a painting hanging in my bedroom… it’s the one that I created in a group Paint Nite event.  The painting is of a peacock, with its rich array of glamorous plumes.  I definitely followed the step by step instructions, but if you look closely you will see where I was led astray.  Where I took my inspiration into my own hands.

The white speckles around the neckline became delicate strands of pearls.  The tail transformed into an elegant ball gown… and the head crest… like the feathers in a fine lady’s bonnet.  As I looked around the room, not one was exactly the same.  Even though we all had the same instructor and followed the same instructions, each painting was unique.  Each painting was inspired by its creator.

I was reminded that we all look through different colored lenses.  We all have different styles and preferences.  And we all interpret our surroundings in tune with our past experiences.  One peacock on my left had only purple feathers.  The one on the right had streaks of green and blue, and still another had sneaked in some red.

As for me, I chose to interpret the iridescent plumage as reflecting all the colors in the rainbow.  I saw yellow, pink, and orange.  Why should I limit myself?  I couldn’t feel more happier as I vigorously made my way through all the paints in the palette.  I couldn’t feel more inspired as my vision revealed itself.

There’s something special about having done it with your own hands, having put in a degree of effort into it.  It may be shells picked up along the ocean shore that we later display.  Or the flowers we arrange in vases, freshly picked from our gardens.  We toil in hopes that we will be rewarded with vibrant blooms.  It’s true, a bouquet from your garden is more satisfying than the one you pick up at the grocery store.

Less and less we rely upon our own skills and talents to design fashion, build furniture, plant flowers, and paint paintings.  Someone else is doing it for us.  All we need can be bought with a simple click of the mouse.  Perhaps we are stuck in the world of consumerism and take the easy way out.  We consume, but do not create.  Maybe we need to embrace simplicity and get engaged with our surroundings.  Maybe we just need to get inspired.