What’s in your pockets?

What do we carry with us every day?

If someone asked you the question what’s in your pockets? What is your response? Would you ask why they are asking and get defensive, or would you simply just lay it all out on the table?

Photo by Steshka Willems Taken from Pexels: Not entirely sure why anyone would have flowers in their pockets but I like the picture

What if I told you the things you carry with you every day can show someone who you are, the little quirks that make you, well you?

Don’t believe me? Or wondering “ok how? Or what’s your point”

I promise if you stick with me to the end of this article you will understand the true meanings (there are a few) behind what I am really getting at.

Don’t worry I wouldn’t ask to see yours without showing you mine, so here’s what’s in my pockets:

Photo Taken By Author: Yes these are the actual things from my actual pockets, but how upset would you be if it said: “taken from Unsplash or google images?”

As you can see there are a few must-have things I carry with me at all times, but what do they all mean or what do they show about me?

• Tobacco Tin: Aside from the obvious fact that it shows that I smoke, note the dragon design, so you would assume I like dragons and you would be correct, what you don’t know is I have 3 dragons tattooed on my body, so I love dragons.
• Zippo lighter: Again aside from the obvious of I smoke, the colours black and red, are my colours and the skull is quite similar to the skull in my logo, and if you knew me on a personal level you would know that my lighter is a part of me. I love Zippos and always wanted a real one (I’ve had cheap fake ones in the past but this is my first real zippo my mum bought for me last Christmas) As a kid I've always seen Zippo lighters being used by gangsters and bosses etc and that has stuck with me, plus I can be quite good at producing it and giving light to random strangers which most see as quite impressive in that situation and makes me feel very smooth.
• A wallet: Other than the wallet being empty which I was going to ask you to ignore, however, unfortunately, it is relevant to my current financial situation which is one hundred and ten per cent categorically skint/flat broke/brassic/ any term you would like to use. See the inscription though? well that’s a massive giveaway that I have a daughter named Kiara (Key-ar-ra) who bought me that wallet she is 9 and one of if not the best kids I have ever met (not that I’m objective or anything)
• A single house key: First the amount is significant the fact that if it’s only one key it’s more than likely a house key and I either don’t drive or at the very least don’t own a car, which is correct I have a license but no car. Can you guess what the keyring signifies? If you guessed that I am a female… you would be wrong, Of course its shows that I am a dude with a beard, what you don’t know is that the keyring was bought by me by my daughter (the same daughter as the wallet) and the reason she bought me that is that everyone loves my beard except my mother who constantly tells me to shave it off, so Kiara (Key-ar-ra) gave me the keyring and stated that now I have the keyring I can never get rid of the beard.
• A cannabis grinder (the grinder itself kept it very subtle didn’t it?): This however asks a question instead of telling us something, do I smoke weed or am I simply “holding it for a friend”? and the answer to that is… depends on who's asking, are you a cop and is my solicitor present?
• My phone: I know what your thinking it wasn’t in the picture, however, if it was in the picture then I wouldn’t have been able to take the picture so think of it as a bonus, and if you caught on before now that my phone wasn’t in the picture I am sure you were more than likely wondering why, because speaking for the majority of the general population our phones are our lives we can’t leave the house without them or we feel a deep sense of loss or like something just isn’t right.

Now that you have seen the contents of my pockets and know the story of each item you can make a few assumptions about me, so take a moment to think about who I am or what I look like… there will be a face reveal so hopefully you read this before scrolling down or it defeats the purpose a little.

Photo Taken By And Of The Author: Hey look it’s me, was your assumption right?

The things we put in our pockets are the things that are important and personal to us, the things we quite literally can’t leave home without.

But what if I tried to hand you a thousand different things from around your home, everything from, to, and including the kitchen sink, or any sink for that matter?

You would say things like “that wouldn’t fit in my pocket or I don’t have room to carry that” or you may even go the route of something more colourful along the lines of “why the f**k would I need to take that with me?”

And this believe it or not ladies, gentlemen and genders of all ages is exactly the point I am making.

And for all of you “I have a bag though, I take everything with me” have no fear you are included in this as well

Photo by Dids taken from Pexels: this one is not mine

When we leave the house we take a very specific amount of things with us and the less room we have, the more we learn to prioritise what is important enough to go with us and what really isn’t necessary at that time and we can happily leave at home.

I am not saying the things we leave at home are no less significant to us, but if you were to be completely honest with yourself how many of the things we have in our homes, could we sell, pass on or simply throw away?

And sure you can buy a bag so you can carry around lots more things that might be useful once in a blue moon hence those “you never know when you might need it” type people and yes I am guilty of that at times as well and you should see some of the pointless things I keep for the very same reason, but what if we learned to just let go?

I am sure by now you have figured out that I am talking not only about the physical items we take, but the emotional baggage we carry, those things we think we have to keep with us at all times but in reality they are weighing us down, our worries, our stresses, our anxieties.

Photo by cottonbro studio taken from Pexels: Please don’t be like this poor person

What would happen if we left the house one day and just left all of these things at home? Not forgotten, but just locked away somewhere safe where we know where they are if and when we need them, and when you are ready you can simply go to where ever they are kept take one out and decide what to do with it, and if you can’t find a genuine reason to keep it either with you or even in your safe place then let it go and one by one you will feel a sense of freedom and clarity that you no longer need to carry around this emotional baggage and the things that are weighing us down.

At this point you know what is in my pockets and what is in your own pockets, but what about those that you know, your friends and families and those that we don’t, the people we walk past, meet or just simply encounter daily at a bus stop, or train station or in your local shop?

Everyone is carrying something with them all the time and you have no idea what that is unless you physically take the time to ask them “what is in your pockets?” you will never know, so please bear in mind you have no idea what burdens are weighing others down so be careful with your words, actions and judgements and perhaps if you do more of this you can lighten their load if even a little with a smile, a conversation or a random act of kindness.

A few weeks ago I was travelling to view a house and met a man on the train who looked like he was having a bad day, so I started the conversation with exactly that “you look like you’re having a bad day buddy” and he informed me that he was up here on holiday, it had only arrived a few hours and he realised he had lost his bank card and needed it to pay to get home, he had asked someone else who told him to go to the bank in the next town over (which is how we ended up on the same train) and he was hoping they would do something for him, before long I and another girl sitting across from us (a stranger to me and him) were both trying to look up the options and see if there was any advice we could give him.

Photo by Pixabay taken from Pexels: had to be a picture of a bank card right?

When we arrived in Coleraine he asked me for directions to the bank, I told him I was waiting for a connecting train and had a little time to spare so I walked him over and gave him my number in case he needed anything else, I actually ended up missing my train and had to get a bus instead but I didn’t mind I was still on time to view the house and I felt like I helped him, and he couldn’t thank me enough for being so genuine and expecting nothing in return.

I never heard the outcome of what happened or in fact from him at all since, but for me the important thing is it didn’t cost me anything to show a little humanity and perform a random act of kindness and the knowledge that I perhaps helped lighten his burden even a little was more than enough for me.

So the next time you leave the house think of all the thing that you are carrying with us every day, both physically and emotionally, and if you either couldn’t or wouldn’t lay it out on the table and explain why you have it and why you never leave home without it, then you don’t need it so leave it and enter the world free and without clutter and baggage and just enjoy the feeling of, everything I have is exactly what I need.

And when you see someone with their pockets overflowing take the time to ask “what is in your pockets?”

If you want to reach out to me for support, or a friend, or if you want to use this content or content like this for your site or publication please contact me via email: Darkcrow343@gmail.com