Traveling Light!…

How are you feeling today? If you are feeling a bit weighed down and experiencing life to be a bit heavy going – don’t worry, there’s a way out… Stop whatever you’re doing – just stop for a moment – STOP and CHECK yourself. Check your mind, check your thoughts, check your attitude, check every corner of your sub-conscious – what do you see? Do you see anything that’s unnecessary and wasteful – anything that’s negative or disturbing to the peaceful decor of your inner sanctum?… Should it stay there or should you remove it?… If you want to feel light, you would have to remove that ‘rubbish’ wouldn’t you?… So take this opportunity to use your mind!… Imagine picking up this rubbish and tossing it out – that’s all. Now find more rubbish and do it again. Do it as many times as necessary to rid yourself of anything that is weighing you down and holding you back – negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, anger, doubts. Later when you allow yourself more of these individual moments you can check your cupboards, check under your beds and check in every corner of every room – pick up anything that’s not needed, anything that is wasting space, anything that’s in the way of you moving forward in life… and simply get rid of it! De-cluttering on a regular basis (mentally and physically) is liberating and extremely important if we are to live and travel lightly throughout the game of life… Living minimally doesn’t mean to go without, but to appreciate and be clear on what you have.

Look at your external world – is it clean, comfortable, warm and inclusive? Or is it messy, cluttered, unorganised and confusing? You know, our outer world tells us a lot about what is going on inside our minds – though many will do anything to ‘throw others of track’ – cleverly disguising lack of self control through ritualistic cleaning frenzies. However, to travel light in life I must genuinely rid myself of all the ‘rubbish’ associated with ‘image’ and life will instantly be experienced as lighter. This means packing up and removing anything in my home and in my mind that is wasteful, unnecessary, toxic, dangerous or destructive. Often we surround ourselves with so much stuff to distract ourselves, we don’t notice that it actually feeds the stress. In fact, when we identify with our physical belongings and our mentally driven images, we sustain a plastic life that’s built on fear. In an image driven society we are almost forgiven for believing this is ‘normal’, though there’s nothing natural about this way of living.

Hanging onto stuff ‘just in case’ – also known as ‘hoarding’ – comes from a deep sense of fear. A fear of not having enough, a fear of going without, a fear of missing out… Hoarding creates a rather addictive ‘I must have’ attitude – driven by desire and partnered with greed. Out of fear we hang onto things that are no longer useful and cling to ways of life that no longer serve us. Hanging onto this ‘stuff’ is wasteful and unnecessary. Don’t be too busy hanging onto and fighting with the old, let it go, we MUST make room for the new?… Replaying past life events, over-playing wasteful thoughts or giving in to irrational emotions keep us stuck – though we know it’s not healthy for us, we still do it! Why?… Habit… Addictions… all built on attachment!

We cannot see what we carry in our mind. If we don’t let go of stuff
that has already happened, it’s like having a permanent backpack attached to our back, which over time becomes excessively heavy and will spill out into our lives. Now struggling through even the simplest day, I can’t understand why ‘this is happening to me’. I have forgotten about that extra ‘stuff’ I’ve neatly tucked away in my bag – anger and blame, guilt and frustration, resentment and fear. The art of letting go and traveling light means to consistently check and change what and how you think – to regularly check and empty your ‘backpack’! We are thinking beings and therefore have the Power to control our thoughts, to slow down the process and change their direction and quality. It will take a bit of effort and attention as we have become quite complacent with our thinking, in fact, most of us don’t even think about our thinking.

Paying attention to my thoughts is essentially the key. It enables me to judge their speed and quality as I take the reigns of life back in my own hands. If they are thoughts of rubbish, I can instantly get rid of them. If they are fast, I can slow them down. If they are stuck in the past, I can bring my thoughts into the present moment. If they are limiting or destructive, I have the power to change negative into positive. I have the ability to change heavy and life-draining into lightness and life-giving. Albert Einstein says “We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” So to travel light, we must change the way we think – this is how we can uplift the world!!

Question: Do you hoard ‘stuff’ – physical and/or mental?

Consideration: Why do you hoard instead of getting rid of stuff?

Action: Check for any wasteful or defeating thoughts by quickly
scanning your mind. STOP immediately by applying a firm brake, take a few slow breaths while creating a more positive thought before continuing on. Do this exercise regularly through your day. Before going to sleep you can check over your day – what can I do
differently tomorrow? – then let go of your day. The past is not a place we can stay or visit (only in our mind) – it’s done and it can’t be changed so let it go! Release excess physical stuff too – we come with nothing and leave with nothing – so keep it simple, keep it light.

Love Annemarie