Lighten Your Load of Unnecessary Baggage

As we embark on this journey called life, many of us carry around unnecessary emotional baggage like regret, insecurity, sorrow, and fear. We neatly pack and transport years and years of painful memories and experiences with us.  We've been lugging some of this baggage around for so long that we view the weight of the burden as innate, not realizing that we are voluntarily carrying it.
   

"You cannot let go of anything if you cannot notice
that you are holding it. Admit your 'weaknesses' and
watch them morph into your greatest strengths." 

- Neale Donald Walsch

It's time to take an honest look at your life.  Just how much baggage are you dragging behind you?  Is it yours alone or are you shouldering other people's hardships as well?  Do you find yourself experiencing the same frustrations, mistakes and heartaches over and over again?  Are you drawn to people and situations that only seem to add to the weight of your existing emotional baggage?

"I say unto you that suffering is not holding you, you are holding suffering." 

- Osho

Have you asked yourself what you are going to DO with all that stuff when you get to where you're going? Most of the baggage you're dragging around is useless and you haven't WORN the contents in years...some because they're out of style (like opinions about yourself & others), some because you've outgrown them and they no longer fit (like relationships), some because they're just plain ugly and you should never have possessed to begin with (like prejudice, envy and hate), and WORST OF ALL--some are simply worn out and tattered but you keep them because they are comfortable (like habits and behaviors).

"People have a hard time letting go of their suffering.
Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar." 

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Would would happen if you let go of the pain, let go of the emotions, let go of the attachments to the difficult memories, let go of the identity you've created because of all the baggage?
 

"Let go. Why do you cling to pain? 

There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. 
Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?" 
- Leo Buscaglia

If you can release your grip on the experiences of your past, you will free yourself up to live the life you deserve.  It's impossible to move forward if you're constantly looking in the rear view mirror.  Stop exhausting yourself with the responsibility of thoughts, behaviors, and memories that don't serve you.  Instead, revitalize yourself by focusing your energies on the people and things that bring you joy.

"Think about any attachments that are depleting
your emotional reserves. Consider letting them go." 

- Oprah Winfrey

Lighten your load! You'll reach your destination faster and the journey will be far more enjoyable.