When the heart understands that grasping is pointless, it lets go. Based on that insight alone, one becomes independent of others, and what we land in is a way of being that doesn't take from or demand anything of the world around us. Once we are independent, and all the way along the path toward this independence, there's a kind of power and deep maturity that comes when we can be with the culture, people, and dramas around us without being pulled under by them. And that means that our participation is cleaner, more creative, more compassionate, and more choiceful.