Over the years I've noticed how much stuff I have accumulated...clothes, books, exercise equipment, shoes, etc. etc. It's a lot of freakin' stuff!! Just like material stuff I've accumulated a lot of inner stuff....fear, anger, sadness, etc. etc. I am coming to the awareness that all my stuff is weighing me down making it difficult for me to traverse the hills and valleys on my journey.
When I was an undergraduate student working on a B.S degree I would get a break in the action taking advantage of the opportunity to go home. Every semester, during season breaks I, would gather all my stuff and lug it across campus to the bus, or through the town to the train. Imagine several large bags bursting at the seams weighing upwards of 50pounds each!! I carried that stuff through the freezing cold and rain, the blistering heat and pain. I can't describe how long and arduous it was to walk with all that stuff!!
I learned a valuable lesson about traveling light. Recently, I was at the airport with too much stuff in my check-in bags. I discovered that carrying much stuff will cost you in more ways than one. In order for me to continue my journey and, not pay the extra money the airline was trying to charge, I had to lighten my load and rearrange my stuff.
I am learning that in order for me to travel light on my journey toward integrated health it is important for me to drop the emotional baggage I have been carrying for a long time and reconfigure my stuff to carry it differently.
Yes, I've had some pain and disappointments, heartaches and losses, mistakes and failures. Life for me "has been no crystal stair" however in-spite of my pain I am choosing to my unpack my stuff and travel light.
If you took time to read this feel free to leave a comment. What do you need to leave behind to travel light?
Peace & Blessings on Your Journey.
You're right, Mel. Emotional baggage can really weigh us down, hold us back, and make us miserable. The positive thing is...what we do with that baggage is in our control.
ReplyDeleteWe can choose to address the baggage, make strides to kick it to the curb, and start growing. Or let it continue bringing us down.
Here's to moving forward! :)
You are so right Laura!! We have the keys to our own emotional prisons. Bless you for commenting :)
DeleteI need to leave behind the pain I experienced, living in a home with an absent father.
ReplyDeleteBelinda, your unbearable pain can be transformed into livable disappointment by naming it, letting it ache, then letting it go. You've come such a long way. I'm proud to be on the journey with you.
DeleteLove MJ