Wil is learning rhyming at school, and he has homework to reinforce this. It involves four cut-outs with a picture of an object on each, and one object doesn’t rhyme with the others. I’m to arrange these four cut outs in different patterns (in a row, in a box, diagonally) and ask him which one doesn’t belong.
Funny how our life is like that homework assignment. There is always something that doesn’t belong, that we need to let go of. So we rearrange things. We move, go on vacation, change jobs, but no matter what rearranging we do, there it is, it still just doesn’t belong.
Have you heard the saying, wherever you go there you are? No matter where we go, if we have internal baggage, it comes nicely folded and packed right along with us.
A lot of this internal baggage is not dumped because we fear unpacking it. If we acknowledge it, then we have to face it and overcome it. We think its better to just leave it nice and packed where it is, and not unload the ugliness of it.
What a heavy weight to carry around with us, though. If we don’t unload some of this baggage, it prevents us from making the leap to bigger and brighter things.
No, its not easy, and yes there can be some ugly, old stuff packed in there. But, what’s really exciting about unloading it, is it makes us lighter. We are free to try new things, and overcoming fears is what brings joy and renewed energy into our lives.
If we unload just a little of that baggage, we’ll be that much lighter to experience the joy of overcoming some of our fears, and that can give us the confidence to move forward to conquer more of our fears.
I’ve recently encountered a situation where I started to feel insecure and unsure of myself. But, then, I reminded myself how good it felt to dump all those feelings out the window, and just go for it. That reminder alone gives me strength and confidence to move forward. The lighter we are, the further we go. The heavier we are, the more we just stay put.
If you are in a nice, comfy place after a difficult situation, sit back, relax and enjoy it. You deserve it! But, after some time, that comfy place finds us making a home there, and that is where we start to get complacent. We make issues out of non-issues, just to create some excitement in our lives. This is a perfect place for our internal baggage to start loading up with new stuff.
If you are in that complacent place, I urge you to do something out of your comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be a huge endeavor like sky diving, just something to jolt you out of your complacency. Call a family member you’ve put off calling, start a new work-out regiment, anything that will spark some fresh energy into your life.
These sparks give us energy to try new things, and it adds new excitement and purpose to our lives. We have no time or desire to sweat the small stuff because we are too busy living our lives.
If we are jolted into a tough spot in our lives, that initial shock is painful. But, it is a great motivator to get out of that place. It gives us perspective on our lives, and we are better able to see what is and is not important. So, when I receive the jolts now, I’m thankful for them, because I know I’ll be much better for them once I get through it.
If you find yourself rearranging your life, remember that no matter what you do, that one piece is not going to belong no matter where you place it. Its not easy, but if you take time to identify the one that doesn’t belong, and let it go, you will have the energy to create an exciting, new pattern.
All the best,
Christie
Autobiographical Reflections 