Liberate yourself

There is this episode of the TV series "How I met your mother" in which they say that every person has their own baggage to carry. They take that quite literally with displaying heavy bags that with one person even piled up. That episode stood out to me especially (apart from me being a series junky of course) as I'm very familiar with that metaphor as I had a best friend who considered himself a carrier. We used that word between us to describe how people would always come to him and ask for advice, thus leaving whatever they had on their shoulders on his. As of recently I've had that topic back in my mind due to the things that were happen around me.

It kind of started with a conversation at a bar. I wish the story was as cool at it begins (bars do still sound cool to me, ok?), but it was not that special after all. Two friends and I went to a bar and talked for more than two hours. When at first we just chatted, at some point it became deeper. We started talking about how former experience changed the person we are now and that due to what happened in the past we act different in the present. At some point one of them said how it affected them specific. I never saw that person in that light even though I was familiar with their story. I did not think that the whole situation had such a deep impact on them. Finally my personal conclusion from this conversation was that some baggage is good, keeps us to the ground and reminds us of who we are supposed to be, whereas others ties us back when all we are supposed to do is rise up and leave it behind, forever. 

That's easier said than done. I mean I have tried various times to get over some issues that I've been aware of for a while now and about every blue moon they come up again, triggered by the most random things. It happened again last Friday. Again, a late night, good conversations with dear friends. Eventually one of my friends started to talk about a personality test he took that sorts you into one out of nine categories. We did not actually take a test; we just read some aspect of each type and thus decided who were thought we were. When I read the full description of what I figured was mine I was actually close to tears. Actually I was very much in shock. There were things described that I've never actually realized this way before. I got home that night and I was so confused and emotionally touched it left me with little sleep only.

One of the things that I realized was that as a person who has a ridiculously good memory is that I do not only hold on to the nice ones. I try to forgive quickly and most of the times it works but you know... Sometimes I fail. So this week I found myself buried deep down in confusion, thoughts, and well, sadness. In addition to being emotional anyway I also had the pleasure to give my beloved cat to an animal centre. It sucked and all that and well, added up to my momentarily malaise. Nothing huge, just a reason to eat a lot of chocolate, watch pride & prejudice and after that, finally getting back to being functional again.

Today I got up at half past six, cleaned my whole room and got rid of some things. I can me somewhat of a stockpiler and well, sometimes you need to draw the line in order to feel free of what should be left behind. No point of keeping everything that has the tiniest emotional value to you, measure what you really want to keep, cut out the rest completely, once and for all. Well at least I needed to do that. Getting rid of the cat tree was necessary for me, as was throwing away a very certain pen, some written pages and a tiny scrap. Nope, they were not connected, but all of those things I knew I couldn't keep around anymore if I wanted to finish those things up. During that process I felt it, like a weight lift.

I'm not sure if this concluded the way I wanted it too, but I kind of had to write about it here. Be aware of your past, but don't clamp to it and believe that you cannot do something just because of what happened previously. Find the right balance I guess.

Cheerio.

Reflective in perspective

Imagine. You just moved house and you walk down the street in front of your new place. There are some houses that you get past during your little exploration. You see a swing set in the yard of one house. You think to yourself that there might be a family with kids living there. As you walk on an elderly couple crosses your path and you smile at them politely. But be careful, there is a women approaching fast. Her dog is pulling her forwards. Finally you arrive at the end of the street, where you see an old mansion that has already started to look a little rotten. Whilst you followed the main street, you missed taking one of the small pavements leaving to big apartment houses a little farther away. You see them from a distance, but you can't imagine how many turns the street might take until you get there.

Now back to today. Five years later you call this place your home. You know that the swing set belongs to the gay couple living there. They've just never took the time to get rid of it. The women that basically ran towards you, is blind. Her dog is supposed to help her, but back than it was very young and not yet as well trained as it is today. Sadly the elderly couple doesn't excist in this form anymore. He died two years ago and she is now in a nursing home. You really liked them because they always seemed so happy, even after being married for nearly fifty years. Sometimes they've told you stories from their life and you sat on their porch for hours in a row. The old mansion once was a place were homeless could find a save place for the night, but they run out of money and had to give it up. Three years ago the government destroyed it and now they are planning more apartment houses. Finally the houses you saw from afar? Your best friend lives there. You walk the streets nearly every day and you could almost walk it blind. It's like a second home for you that you got to love over the time.

So of course all of these things where imaginative, but I wanted to get across a point. It's okay to make assumptions over something, but be open to let them go. Try to remember a place or a person before you really knew them, when they were still exciting and new. Think of the shell you saw, not the things that lie behind. We live in a world where we judge things by only seeing. If we stick around though we forget what we saw and start to see with our hearts. I think both are important. Sometimes it is important to take a step back and look at what was our original thought, what inspired us. Don't give up on something just because it hasn't lived up to your expectations. If it isn't worthwhile, try to make it. Maybe all you need is another point of view. Don't judge a book by its cover, but never lose track of the whole picture either. Just remember to remember.

So now I'm off for some adventures. See you in about two weeks or so :D

Cheerio.