Years back there was a show on TV called “The Big C” – The C at that time stood for Cancer, not COVID. It stared a character who was diagnosed with and going through treatment for cancer. In one episode she goes to a self-awareness retreat to help her emotionally deal with a terminal illness.

This lesson and illustration have always stuck with me.

On her arrival, the camp leader hands her and all her cohorts a backpack. As they each put it on the remark how heavy it is. The backpacks are full of rocks. Some laugh, some complain, but they all willingly put on the packs.

They keep them on throughout the seminars, activities, meals, and meetings. Finally, the main character stands up, super annoyed, looks at the head counselor and tells her off, taking off the backpack and dropping it dramatically on the ground.

She expects the woman to come back at her with reasons why she needs to keep it on and is ready for a fight. Instead, she is met with a genuine smile and a slow clap.

The counselor says to her “Who exactly were you carrying around all those rocks for anyway?”

The point being that the bags were symbolic of all the emotional baggage we carry around every day that weighs us down. Memories, lost dreams, things we have said or done to others, things others have said or done to us, traumas, childhood issues, all of it.

Are they serving you well or are you just dragging them around weighed down unable to really feel free or enjoy life?

Look at your own life. Are you carrying rocks that you no longer need or maybe that aren’t even yours to carry?

You don’t live in the past. Release it. Let it go.

2022 is a new year – What are you going to carry into it?