Baggage Claim

You're standing in the middle of an airport, anxious and full of anticipation as each bag passes you by. A part of you hopes that maybe your baggage would get lost somewhere in between where you were and where you are going. People surround you, some smiling, some crying, some pissed and just ready to get to the closest bar so they can order their Basil Hayden on the rocks. You think to yourself, if everyone lost their baggage, if this claim never existed, would this be a happier place?

Everyone has events, feelings or people from their past that rise to the surface at inconvenient times. You do your best to hide the things that have troubled you. With the kind of 'stuff' that you carry around from place to place, it's a wonder of how you just haven't lost your mind.

Maybe a loved one betrayed you. Maybe it's a family member, significant other or friend, and since then, you have trouble trusting anyone who says they will be good to you. Maybe you have experienced situations more physical, leaving you scared and alone and sometimes non-existent. Maybe you were left by a friend, abandoned by a parent, or rejected from a crowd you yearned to be a part of.

The human mind is powerful, more powerful than I think any of us give it credit for. It can remember dates, specific scents, or even a strangers voice. The human mind, with your permission, can either help you or destroy you.

Imagine starting out your life with an empty suitcase. As a child, so happy and free, you could go anywhere with that thing, you could even hide in it when playing 'hide and go seek,' because the emptiness of that suitcase provided so many opportunities for you. As the years pass, and you start actually growing, learning, and experiencing, you start storing things away. You don't want to talk to anyone about how much pain you are in, so you store your feelings away in this suitcase, hoping that one day it'll all just go away. When you reach your twenties, you find yourself trying to explore new things, travel, meet new people and become the person that you ultimately want to be as an adult. However, there is one big problem.

The emotional suitcase that you've carried around is finally starting to drag you down. You find yourself emotionally and physically drained. Your only solution to be able to find real happiness and freedom is to rid of the suitcase and the junk that fills it.

When you are one of the lucky people to be able to live another day, you have a choice to make when you wake up in the morning. You can either continue to be weighed down and sad by the events of your past, or let everything go and find happiness.

I don't know about you all but I choose happiness. Leave your baggage at the claim, and move forward. You'll be surprised in the doors that will open for you when you don't have something constantly weighing you down.