Can You Pursue Independence and Perfection?

In the pursuit of perfection, have you ever wondered if we're not called away from a Western idea of independence? We're used to the lessons of our childhood helping us to grow and develop as our own person in the pursuit of one day living on our own. We're raised to be separate, and in the best case scenario, to do it in a healthy and stable way. But the idea of perfection in Christianity seems to call us to be increasingly dependent.

Brother Lawrence puts it like this, "The more we aspire to be perfect, the more dependent we are on the grace of God. We begin to need His help with every little thing and at every moment, because without it we can do nothing."The Trinity is perfect, the closer I come to an understanding relationship with that which is perfect, the more of a contrast my own life becomes. Then I begin to see, perfection is not possible. Not in my current mindset of independence. It's one of the only areas in my life, where the more I learn, the less independent I become.