Some people reach a state of independence, but never graduate beyond it, unable to really unite with another, to share their power with another, to yield sufficiently to another so they can work together as a team. There are many people who never really are able to move beyond this intermediate stage of independence.
To reach a state of interdependence represents a greater level of maturity within the individual. Having attained independence sufficiently so that they can begin to think for themselves and to experience a deeper, more inner motivation that is beyond the reach of family and culture, they will find over time that they can do very little alone, and that they need to unite with others to achieve anything of real merit.
In a more complete sense, this stage of interdependence represents a real union of purpose. It is not governed simply by psychological needs now or cultural mandates. It is determined by two people, or in the case of community, more people uniting for a greater purpose—a greater purpose that is theirs to fulfill. They have found one another and they have realized that together they can fulfill this purpose, whereas alone, in a more independent state, they could not.
For you were born with a greater purpose and a mission in the world. But this mission requires the recognition and participation with certain individuals who will share this mission with you. It is their destiny to do so. Alone you have only part of the picture, and you cannot fulfill this mission alone. Knowledge, the greater Intelligence within you, knows this, of course, and will lead you, if you are free, to find those individuals with whom you can share and express and fulfill this greater purpose.
This represents the highest level of relationship, relationship at the level of higher purpose. Here your union is driven by a greater power and a deeper need, a need of the soul. These relationships can be so strong that they can overcome psychological impairments within the individual and differences in their personality or their cultural backgrounds. These differences will exist and can be problematic, but this greater purpose is more powerful. It reaches into the very heart of the individual.
Seen from a greater perspective, your entire life is moving you towards this state of discovering you have a greater purpose, and the realization that you cannot fulfill it alone, and the realization that you cannot fill it with people who are simply pleasant or attractive. It calls for certain individuals with a deeper motivation in life and a unique set of characteristics.