At the baggage carousel

I wrote this some time back but last night I committed myself to doing something that has me absolutely giddy with excitement and anticipation.  Following that step, I had a conversation that made me think of this post that I have never finished and put out there.

I have the image of a baggage carousel going through my mind.  I see people standing by it waiting for their luggage to come out.  A young couple picks up a piece of luggage, the man tells the woman "It's not ours!" as she insist that it is.  He reaches down to look at the tag just as she spots another bag that looks just like theirs except it's tag is a different color.  She realizes her mistake and runs over to grab their bag.  He throws the other bag back on the carousel and they rush away to enjoy their vacation.

Each of us have our own luggage.  On the outside our luggage may look the same as an another traveler's.  It's only when we start unpacking it we find that that the experiences stowed away inside are not just the same.  Some of the items packed inside are brand new and fresh.  Others look dingy and worn.  These experiences may be wrinkled from all the times we pulled them out and tried them on again. 

How we pack our experiences are likely to be different too.  Some are very skilled in organizing and compartmentalizing their experiences.  They are folded nice and neat. Pieces that hurt the most are folded again and again perhaps in hopes that if they are folded enough and put in the corner they will simply be forgotten. Others are not as skilled at packing their luggage.  It's simply a mess and you can almost see the experiences peeking out of the zipped up luggage.  And perhaps the most skilled of the packers is the ones that can over pack the bag but yet make it all fit in so that nobody can tell how full it really is.

When I originally wrote this I continued on to say that I was working on unpacking my bag and letting go of things that don't fit anymore.  Reading this tonight and thinking about the commitment I made I realize that perhaps I am not really getting rid of anything I have packed away.  I am just ready to learn how to love every single piece that I have put in this luggage and accept it as a part of who I am but not the definition of who I am meant to be.  I am ready to move past the shame that has made me fold and fold until something is so tight that it is just waiting for slightest bit of light so it can pop out.  I'm ready to give in, break past the doubts in my head and try things even though they might be failures or not turn out the way I had hoped.

In the future weeks I am hoping that the creativity begins running through me again and if it does then I suspect that I will be posting more.  Creating is something that brings me joy whether it is through writing, photographs or being crafty and I am ready to see where that energy takes me!