Flights Departing. Please Check Emotional Baggage.
More often than not the reason why new things aren't coming in is because there isn't room for them. In order to expand in new directions, we first need to release the baggage of the past. The departure into new beginnings is a one-way flight, no carry-ons accepted. Holding on to the past only slows down our trajectory.
Excess baggage isn't always obvious. It can show up in subtle ways. Perhaps it's the old pictures on your Facebook feed that are out of alignment with your present-day self, yet you can't bring yourself to delete them, because they send you down nostalgia lane. We have to shine our flashlights into the crevices of our psyches to reveal the things we are holding on to that no longer serve us.
What can we do about this incredibly human urge to hoard every morsel from the past and resist change like the plague? Awareness of this tendency is step one.
Notice what areas in your life feel heavy. How might you be holding onto excess mental, emotional, and/or physical baggage in these areas? What purpose does this baggage serve? Everything we hold onto serves a purpose of some sort.
The boxes of old belongings gathering dust in the garage, for instance, may help us feel connected to a time that has long since passed. Holding onto these things, as comforting as they may be, blocks the entryway for new things to emerge. Clearing out those boxes could create space to turn the garage into an art room or a home gym.
We don't have to leave everything behind when setting out on a new trajectory. Maybe there are some old pictures tucked away in those boxes that bring back good memories. Repurpose the stuff that serves you. Frame those pictures and hang them up in your living room. The important thing is that the relics we hang onto compliment our ever-evolving lives, opposed to weighing us down.
Amanda,
Conscious Ink Staffer
Amanda Brown is a wellness blogger and a member of the Conscious Ink Team at our home office in Bend, OR. She is passionate about helping people find peace with where they are at while pursuing their best, most fulfilling lives. For more of her work, you can head over to her blog at www.liminalwellness.com.