Several years ago, a very dear friend did the 500-mile (800 km) Santiago de la Compostela walk, traversing the beautiful countryside of Spain, from the north eastern coast to the city of Santiago de Compostela in the west. It is a pilgrimage of sorts, where thousands of participants from all over the world, walk in contemplative silence from dawn to dusk, leaving behind their worldly concerns to focus on an inner spiritual journey of transformation.
At the end of her walk, I asked her what her greatest realization was from the whole experience. She said that she started her journey with a back pack filled with all the items she was going to need. Along the way, she kept giving away things she did not need, because her back pack felt heavier and heavier each day, as she tired. By the end of the journey, she had only a handful of bare necessities left. She realized that she actually needed very little to survive and enjoy her journey. All the things she had given away were just unnecessary excess baggage that drained her energy pointlessly. When she got back home, she cleared out her house and got rid of everything she didn’t need, giving her a sense of complete liberation. She absolutely loved her new, clutter-free environment…
My dear friends, many of us also carry excessively heavy emotional baggage as we journey through life, harbouring ever increasing burdens of hurt, anger and bitterness arising from the actions of people who may have long moved along, without even realizing the extent of damage they may have left behind. We are the only ones left holding this unnecessary burden…why should we? After all, we are the only fatigued ones struggling with this pointless cargo, damaging our health, well-being and happiness. It is a good time to forgive the past and let it all go… Let us de-clutter our lives both materially and emotionally, and look forward to embracing precious new experiences that we will now have the time, energy, and mental space to enjoy…
©Amyn Dahya
