Have you ever felt that some people seem to be carrying an invisible heavy backpack on their back?
Whenever we traveled in the early years of our married life, we carried big heavy suitcases with us. One reason was that we could take 2 pieces of luggage for free. Looking back, I realize that we were packing our fears.
I had to be sure that we had everything we may need “just in case” it was too cold, too hot, someone got sick, needed to attend a formal event, go for a hike, got hungry… And guess what, we almost never needed most of the things we had packed!
I remember a time when we had 5 large suitcases. When we got to the accommodation, the elevator was out of service. My husband had to carry the suitcases up five flights, which resulted in a slipped disc!
As I was thinking about all the excess baggage we carried, I realized that we do the same in life. We are constantly carrying the weight of our fears. Our life experiences have caused us to be fearful of so many things and we have adopted most of them as our natural state. We don’t even remember what we are like without these fears. We have become so accustomed to them that we rarely notice them.
A common fear is, how others will perceive or judge us. We may unconsciously act and behave in a certain way to be accepted.
Like me, you too may have sometimes noticed yourself acting and behaving from your fears. Have you been lugging overloaded suitcases around for so long that you believe it is part of who you?
Recently I worked with someone who had been struggling with some excess weight. In a few months, she was 23 kg lighter. During her next holiday trip, as she lugged her suitcase down the steps, it dawned on her that she had lost a suitcase worth of weight! She had been carrying that weight unnoticed for so many years!
We keep carrying this excess baggage that we should have discarded long ago! Who are we without this unnecessary weight of fears we have accumulated over the years?
We are not the only ones who suffer from the unnecessary heavy load we have been carrying around. The people closest to us end up on the receiving end of the pain and burdens we feel. We deprive ourselves and our loved ones of the real person we are meant to be.
Maybe it is time to look within and see what is weighing you down. Perhaps you can hold each item you are carrying, look at it for what it is, and ask yourself, "Do I really need to keep this? Is it important? Is it helpful? Is it mine? If not, leave it behind and move on.
It can be hard to let go. But I am sure that it will make you feel lighter and stronger. The world needs to see the beautiful being that you were born to be.
I would be happy to help if you need a little nudge in the right direction.
Love, Light, and Joy
Sonia
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