This Friday, Americans celebrate Independence Day (the 4th of July). I thought this might be a good time to suggest some contemplative, mindful ways to engage with patriotism and love for one’s country. For non-Americans, you may be able to apply the following to your own nation’s patriotic holidays.
In America in particular, there has been this notion recently of “America first”. But when we think more deeply about what that means, we see it has been practiced rather crudely.
Consider if your country was your child. No one is more ‘for’ your child than you. You want your child to be successful, to be happy, fulfilled, to go without want, and so on. But what parent, in their right mind, would hope that their child grows up thinking “me first!” and selfishly, transactionally, goes about life with such a crude, self-centered approach?
If the parents are wise to any degree, they will know that such a view would not result in their child being healthy, happy, or fulfilled. It would lead to a very lonely, paranoid, and scrounging, empty kind of life. This is not to mention the likely reactions of all those around your child, and their responses to such a sociopath.
Good parents know that a child who grows to be a caring, empathetic, sharing, and compassionate person will have more fulfilling relationships, more self respect, more real happiness and meaning in life. This is what we can hope for our country – and this is how a mindful, thoughtful person can reconcile these values as consistent with loyalty, love, and support for one’s country.
Mindful Patriotism
As Spiritual Naturalists, we understand that meaning emerges through our conscious attention and intention. We also recognize that any human institution (our nation included) is an imperfect construct, a work in progress shaped by countless hands and minds. Yet this does not preclude sincere affection for our home, nor gratitude for the freedoms and possibilities it affords.
If we wish to practice an authentic and healthy love for our country, we can begin by integrating mindful reflection, compassion, and clarity. The Fourth of July can be an opportunity to explore this love in a way that honors both our critical awareness and our heartfelt appreciation.
Here are some ideas for a contemplative personal practice on Independence Day:
1. Grounding in Presence
Begin by taking some time alone—perhaps early in the morning or at dusk. Sit comfortably, breathing gently and steadily. Let your awareness settle into your body, your sensations, the air on your skin. In this simple act of presence, you reconnect with the reality that all our ideas and symbols rest upon: the natural world and our embodied existence.
As you breathe, recall that you are part of a vast ecosystem of life and history. Your country is not separate from this—it is an expression of our species’ evolving culture. This grounding helps prevent abstractions from becoming rigid ideologies.
2. Reflecting on Gratitude
After a period of centering, gently bring to mind the ways in which living in your country has contributed to your wellbeing. These might include:
- Access to education and information
- Relative freedoms to express yourself
- The richness of diverse cultures and perspectives
- The efforts of those who worked—sometimes at great cost—to expand rights and liberties
Allow yourself to feel genuine gratitude for these conditions. Recognize that gratitude does not require denying the real flaws and injustices that also exist. Just as we can love a person without imagining them to be perfect, we can love our country while acknowledging its limitations.
3. Practicing Loving-Kindness
If it feels helpful, you can adapt a loving-kindness meditation:
- Begin by offering goodwill to yourself:
“May I be well. May I be wise. May I contribute to the flourishing of all.” - Next, extend these wishes to your fellow citizens:
“May the people of this land find peace. May they grow in understanding. May they act with compassion.” - Finally, extend them to all beings everywhere:
“May all beings be free from suffering and know the joy of being alive.”
This practice helps counteract the temptation to place one nation above all others, instead nurturing an inclusive goodwill rooted in our shared humanity.
4. Contemplating Interdependence
Consider reflecting on how your country arose not from isolated greatness but from interwoven histories:
- Ideas borrowed from other cultures and thinkers
- Labor and sacrifices by people of many backgrounds
- A land shaped by natural forces far older than any government
Recognizing these interconnections can deepen your appreciation while preventing the narrowness of chauvinism. You might journal or meditate on questions such as:
- Who contributed to the freedoms I enjoy?
- What responsibilities arise from these gifts?
- How can I honor this inheritance in my own conduct?
5. Setting an Intention
To close your practice, consider forming a personal intention for the year ahead. For example:
- To become more civically engaged
- To listen more deeply to people with different experiences
- To learn more about the nation’s history—both inspiring and painful
- To support policies that reduce harm and increase human flourishing
Write your intention down or say it softly to yourself. Let it be a quiet commitment, rooted in clarity and compassion.
6. A Small Ritual of Acknowledgment
If you wish, you can light a candle or sit in nature for a few minutes as a simple act of recognition. You might say:
Today I honor the good in this country, and I commit to working toward what it can become.
The Spirit of a Mindful Patriotism
Practicing this kind of contemplative patriotism doesn’t mean surrendering to uncritical pride, nor does it mean rejecting any form of affection for one’s home. Rather, it is a middle path: one that integrates appreciation with discernment, love with honesty, and belonging with universal compassion.
As Spiritual Naturalists, our spirituality is grounded in the wonder of this reality and our shared human journey. Celebrating Independence Day in this way can become an authentic expression of our deepest values.
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Hi Daniel thanks for the article.
I’m not sure myself that patriotism can be reconciled with mindfulness. After all patriotism is a group identity, lending itself to things like groupthink, demonization of outsiders etc. In my opinion being mindful about the history of one’s nation means being mindful about the wrongs committed to create it in the first place and the sins required to maintain its dominance over rival groups and cultures. After all nation states like the US and Australia were created through the conquest and genocide of indigenous peoples and were built on the backs of millions of slaves, convicts and indentured workers.
States founded as settler colonies or with ‘spheres of influence’ beyond their borders (aka empires) also have long histories of oppression, racism and violence against smaller nations (both within and without). They are not special in that regard. All nation states as far as I know reaching back to the dawn of history require the imposition of homogenous languages, laws and culture by governments which centralize power and the means of violence in the name of the dominant ethno-religious identity. Patriotic myth-makers and storytellers conveniently forget such truths.
Personally I don’t celebrate the national day here in Australia which is the anniversary of when the first fleet of settlers made landfall. Aboriginal people think of that event as the beachfront of an invasion leading to colonization and dispossession from their lands. They hold an alternative event called ‘Invasion Day’ celebrating their survival and culture instead. I feel more comfortable celebrating with my indigenous brothers and sisters or celebrating humanity as a whole, the earth, or life itself rather than the nation state. At most I think we should pause to remember the victims of nation building and how patriotism gives one an illusory sense of belonging that is the opposite of a mindful understanding of reality.
If anything I think that spiritual naturalists should adopt a position of mindful anti-patriotism.