Have you ever felt like you are carrying around the weight of the world? And that weight keeps pressing down upon you, no matter what you do to release it? That weight is all the emotional baggage you have accumulated during your life time. Battered and beaten up.
Each instance a set back occurred such as a loved one crushed your heart, a dream was shattered, a death of a family member left grief engulfing you, anger built up over not being respected, anxieties from relationships gone bad, fears lurking in the recesses of our minds and disappointments that have piled up. That is emotional baggage. All of these negative emotions cling to our soul without even realizing they have camped out to stay.
There was a time in my life when I was swimming in these negative emotions and I couldn't seem to get rid of them, no matter what I tried to shake them away.
Then a chance encounter happened with a wise older woman, who told me I was carrying around years of emotional baggage. I was never going to achieve my goals being weighed down by negativity. That baggage needed to be released and let go of for good.
I almost broke down into tears as she talked with me, because what she shared resonated so deeply in my soul, I knew it had to be true.
"But how do I do that? I don't want to carry this baggage any longer."
She told me step-by-step what I should do, and it began with going to a craft store to purchase a blank cardboard box, pieces of paper to write on, markers and stickers that appealed to me. Then I was to go home, find a quiet place and some dedicated time to do the activity.
I made a couple of stops to pick up everything, including a couple of candles and a bottle of wine, as she explained it could be an emotional experience. She recommended having a box of tissues close by in case.
After pouring myself a big glass of wine, lighting the candles and positioning them around the room, I brought all the supplies over to my coffee table, sat on the floor and started the ritual.
The activity began with writing my name on the top of the box 'to own it.' Then I was to draw pictures of items that represented me and my interests, on the four sides of the box.
After that was completed I was to take empty pieces of paper, one by one, and write down all the negative experiences that had happened in my life that caused my hurts, my fears, anger, sadness and despair. With each memory that I wrote, I was to throw it into the box and release it from my soul.
When I was finally finished, no time limit required, I was to put the top back on the box and pack it away in my closet.
After being emotionally spent from reviewing all the hurts from my past, I put the box on the top shelf of my closet, closed the door for the night and went to sleep feeling hopeful.
I didn't know what to expect, but after a deep, solid nights sleep, I woke up feeling lighter and my outlook was brighter.
Over the years I would share this activity with many different people who admitted a tremendous shift in their lives. A few people even decided to burn their box in a fire pit to make sure those negative emotions were disintegrated.
Whatever the connection between our brain, our emotions, and the activity itself, engaging the universe in our endeavor, the release of baggage allows us to walk more confidently in the direction of our goals.