“We need much less than we think we need” — Maya Angelou
Waiting in queue of an airline baggage check in, I was quite nonchalant till my turn came. I didn’t think twice while packing my five bags for a one-week holiday. ‘What if I will need this or that’? Is how I reasoned with myself to pack all that I could muster in my big and not so big bags. Forgetting, how, not only will carrying all that baggage come at a price, but neither the cab driver, nor the airline staff would appreciate the excess. After a few minutes of
trying to haggle with them, needless to say, embarrassing myself as I held up other people waiting to check in, I relented and sighed and finally vowed to myself, ‘never again will I travel with extra luggage’!
It’s true how little I truly needed whilst on holiday. This made me laugh at my plight, and upset too, at the tardiness I showed in handling the whole thing. We all live in the age of consumerism where everything must be bought and hoarded. Did we forget how simple it was while growing up? When the choices were fewer, needs were lesser, accumulation of objects wasn’t rampant.
Being frugal isn’t necessarily synonymous with being stingy. The age old saying ‘Less is More’ is not only apt in the physical scheme of things, but also with our emotions. We hold onto not only things but thoughts and feelings from the past. The weight of this emotional baggage manifests itself in relationships, ability to trust people, feelings of worthlessness, constant comparison with others, insecurities, to name a few. It hinders current and
prospective companionships and triggers unwanted anxiety and stress.
It’s time we did a reality check and strike off things and feelings that we don’t necessarily need in our lives. They create chaos not only in your physical space but clutter the mind constantly too. They affect our lives more than we realise they do. Most importantly, they hurt. Our pains and aches are an extension of our emotions, those that are stagnating in the body, and eating away at us, bit by bit.
Live it light and let go of the excesses. The impact of a lighter being can be felt not only within you, but how you are on the outside too. You will seldom let little things affect you. Relationships will become more meaningful and life, less dreary. Chores won’t feel burdensome and negativity will dissipate.
Make a list of things that emotionally bog you down. Eliminate these disparities one by one, be it fear, anger, jealousy etc. Watch the weight that lifts off you and makes you a lighter being, minus the excess baggage!
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