I feel like a pack horse trudging into work today. I’m carrying my work bag, running gear, lunch and Diet Coke supplies. I need them all at various times and for various reasons but will be grateful to be less burdened down on the return journey home later today. Carrying stuff around all day is hard work and, I for one, can certainly do without it. It’s tiring and a nuisance. Are you the same?
What’s more that’s just what is on my back. What about the unnecessary thoughts and emotions we carry in our heads and on our hearts? Guilt, resentment and anger to name but a few. Try as we might it’s nigh on impossible to shake off the demons from our past who delight in polluting our present and threatening our futures. They are a constant reminder of our failings and insecurities.
I’ve got better at it in recent years but it was this internal baggage which used to bring me to my knees in days gone by. I refused to move on and learn from past mistakes, ignoring the warning signs until it was much too late and I stumbled head first into the next disaster. I learnt the hard way, but I did learn. Today I’m a different beast, or at least I hope I am. I’ve dumped the people and negative thinking who were holding me back.
They might know this, they might not. I don’t really care. I’m focused on the people who matter and being the best person I possibly can. Without titles or opinions or anything else that hides the real me from the watching world. As a result my load is considerably lighter as I raise my head and truly see where I am, who I’m with and where we are going. Together and baggage free.
Black Thoughts 
Like you, I’ve dumped some toxic friends over the years. Again, like you, not sure if they noticed or not but I have and I can feel the lightness now.
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Yes, the decision is a wise one.
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Well said!
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Thank you Mark.
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Freedom is a wonderful thing. Sometimes we are our own jailer as well as the prisoner.
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And an image I read in a novel once… the jail bars are just immediately in front of you. The sides of the jail cell are wide open. Eventually a person can learn to just go around.
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Wise words as ever sir 🙏🏻
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It is a great thing when you realize all of those things and start to live the life we are supposed to live.
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Most definitely Harold. Well said.
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But… But… Diet coke!
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😂
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Excellent blog! Loved the analogy of the baggage you bring to work every day! The photo was perfect too! It is amazing how much baggage you realize is unimportant and you let go of when the doctor tells you have cancer. A good therapist, loving friends and family, a wonderful husband and a great Hod have helped me over the years to let go of a lot of my baggage.
Terri D
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Thank you very much Terri 🙂
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Great post. I have been learning to let go of my baggage.
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Thank you Amanda. I hope you continue to do so 🙂
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Are you familiar with the poem “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson? Your reflections bring that poem to mind.
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I’m not, no. I will have to read it.
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I have a friend going through the grief of having to dump a friend of 10+ years. It’s like you said, the demons of our past delight in making our present miserable. And I cannot imagine forcing a friend to choose between my friendship or their convictions; I’d love to think I’ve never been that toxic friend, but probability says otherwise. At a certain point, wisdom and discernment come in to play with knowing what you need in your life and finding ways to meet those needs, giving and receiving alike.
Thanks for this food for thought!
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You’re very welcome, Eden. Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Sometimes the weight we need to lose isn’t necessarily on our bodies but on our hearts. This came as a message to me that was right on time and seeing it here kinda reinforces it. Thanks for this!
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You’re very welcome. Thank you 😊
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Keep moving forward! 😊👏
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I will. Thank you 😊
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