Let go of your past
I once read a story about a professor, who demonstrated an experiment to his students. He entered the classroom with a cup of water. He held it up, and asked the students what would happen if he were to hold it up for an hour. “Your hands will ache”, the students replied. “Yes,” agreed the Professor, “but has the weight of the cup changed while I am holding this? If not, then why is it that my hand aches after some time?”
The students knew the answer. It was because he held it for too long. It was not the weight of the cup that changed, it was the time he held it for which mattered.
This story holds a powerful metaphor.
Right now, many of us are holding up filled cups. The cup that many of us are holding, dear friends, is the cup of our past regrets, reservations and resentments. Just like the hand aches when we hold a cup of water for too long, our mind also aches when we have stored up grunts and grumbles. And the longer you hold it, the worse the ache becomes.
Remember, just like the weight of the cup remains constant, the actual emotional value of your past experience is also a constant. But, as time progresses, it can truly add up - to be a monster-sized baggage.
And when you walk around, you are carrying this huge baggage of all your bitterness. Wherever you go, your baggage follows. You start a new relationship, your baggage is there. You try a new career, the baggage is still there.
Speaking of baggage, imagine packing your bags and leaving for a trip abroad. You weigh the bag, and you see that it weighs more than the permitted amount for the flight. What would you do? You choose which things you really should carry with you, and leave the rest behind.
That is exactly what we should do with our emotional baggage. From the entire stock of your past experiences, take only what you absolutely need to carry – and by that I mean the lessons you have learnt from your experiences. And then, leave the rest behind. Ask yourself - do I still need to carry around horrible memories of my ex? Do I need to walk around with the bitter embarrassment from years ago? Do I need to carry all my past failures and fears to cripple me each day? Take only what you really need in the journey of life, and leave the rest behind.
Now you might say that leaving the rest behind is easier said than done. Here is where the importance of gestures comes in. A gesture can really help you put your cup down.
Activity to help you release your baggage
Remember, dear friends, that gestures are very powerful tools. When you perform a gesture, you are sending a direct and clear instruction to your mind. You are taking charge, and letting it know, “this is the job I want done.” And the mind responds. It gets the job done.
Let me share such a gesture with you. Look deep within yourself and see what is filled in your cup. Take each wound, each bad experience and each miserable memory. Write it down in a piece of paper. Let the paper hold them for now. Then crumple the paper into a little ball, and drop it in a big fire. You can also just visualize the whole thing in stead. Remember to imagine everything very clearly. See the dance of the yellow flames. Hear the soft crackling of the orange embers. Feel the comforting warmth of the white smoke. Now imagine dropping the paper ball of your past in this bonfire. Whoosh. There you go. Let the blazing flames take care of it. Then breathe a sign of relief. Aaaaahhh… It feels good to put the cup down doesn't it?
Let go of your past. Leave the baggage behind.
