Tuesday, April 29, 2014

this may come as a surprise to many of you, but i hate carrying a purse [and not because it's 'too girly' either]. truth be told, i hate having to carry anything; i would much rather throw some cash in my pocket and walk out the door.

but a lot of us walk out the door each day with a lot more 'baggage', don't we? stuff that weighs us down? stuff we could do without? stuff like unnecessary relationship drama, conflict, pain from our past, and the list goes on.

as some of you know, i take pride in the fact that i've been on 62 flights in the past 13 years. that's 62 take offs, 62 landings, and 62 times where i've had to check my baggage through customs, and unpack it when i arrived at my destination.

but there's a time to check your baggage in life, too.

i'm sure you've all heard your boss or a co-worker say, "leave your baggage at the door". i know i have. "i don't care what you're going through, you better walk in here with a smile on your face and get to work". while these words may sound harsh to some, they do carry some weight.

the truth is, no matter how much pain we're in, we have to be able to function.

[disclaimer: before i go any further, please know that i am in no way, shape, or form downplaying things that some of you may be going through. i understand that there are times in life where this doesn't come easy, or where an extended period of time is needed for grief etc]

but for the rest of us, we can't be walking around moping all of the time and letting our past affect our future. [i'm talking to myself here]. there are times where we need to 'leave our baggage at the door', and check it.

but there's also a time to unpack it, and put it away. for good.

we live in a world of self medication; we're constantly avoiding our pain by doing drugs, drowning ourselves in netflix, or by pulling up the nearest bar stool. but, if you're like me, you've learned that your pain is waiting for you when the novelty of your choice of medication wears off. naturally, the cycle continues; we pick up another bottle, pop another pill, or turn on another movie, when the truth is, we have to work through our junk. we have to take time out to reflect and think it through, recognize patterns, talk to someone, cry it out, whatever we need to do to let go of it.

our generation's whole 'just be strong and move on' facade is not only unhealthy, but it's dangerous. perhaps it's time we change our thinking, start unpacking our baggage, and travel light ... you know, without a purse.

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