What’s Weighing You Down?

the load you carry
may not all be yours to hold
you can let it go

Check a woman’s bag and it’s likely that you’ll find she is carrying many things that she doesn’t necessarily need to have on hand. Some of what she is carrying may not even have been hers to begin with.

This is especially likely if she is a mom, or if she is taking care of or traveling with others.[1]

When you’re carrying a bag and other people aren’t, you often field the request from others:

Can you carry this in your bag for me?

Whatever this is — a charging cord, a pack of tissues, a pack of gum — usually isn’t too big or heavy. On its own, it doesn’t weigh much or take up too much space.

Collectively, however, those little things add up. They can weigh down your bag and put an extra load on your shoulders and back.

Apparently, the average woman’s handbag weighs over 6 pounds.

I can’t find the original source for this stat, but that’s not entirely relevant.

The point is that many of us end up carrying around a lot of shit that we don’t need. Sometimes it isn’t even ours.

This applies both physically and energetically.

Physically: In the same way that you might clear out your inbox or your fridge, it’s good to review the contents of your handbag periodically and clear out what you don’t need to carry.

Energetically: It’s also important to examine what you’re holding energetically and clear out what isn’t yours.

What does this mean?

Sometimes when people hear “energy” they glaze over. Stay with me here. All I mean by this is the stuff you can’t see or touch.

The energetic things you might be holding include:

expectations
fears
beliefs
attitudes
assumptions
hopes and dreams
standards
values
ideas of who you need to be

Just like the items in your bag, each one, individually, might not weigh much or take up that much space. But collectively they can weigh you down and crowd your space.

They can even stifle your breathing or cause physical symptoms like headaches or joint stiffness.

Just like the physical items that may not belong to you, you can choose to give them back or you can simply discard them.

You don’t need to hold onto anything that isn’t yours or that no longer serves you.

Lighten your load.