Author: Kimberly Novak

We all carry around extra baggage in our lives.  This can be in the form of external baggage as in being overweight, taking on too much at once, or being around negative influences.    We also carry around internal baggage such as stress, worry, fear, loss, guilt, low self-esteem or hanging onto being hurt by someone or something.

So  how and when do we know  it is time for us to “lighten the load” and begin to rid ourselves of the extra baggage we are carrying?  I think an important step would be to learn to trust your feelings.  If  someone or something is dragging you down then it’s time to take a good look at the relationship or situation.  If it is causing a negative affect in your life you will need to do something about it.  This can be hard for some of us especially if you are not confident in yourself to move on without the baggage that you have been holding on to. When we get used to something in our lives we cling to it.  Even if it’s negative, there is a comfort in knowing it will always be there.    I’m being vague here because there are so many things that the baggage could be.  It could be  a negative person in your life, a negative lifestyle, a loss, a fear, or general feelings of worry and stress.  This list goes on.  No matter what your “load” may be it’s important for you to learn how to live without it if you are going to move in a positive direction towards your transformation.

If we continue to carry around this negative load  it can take a toll on us not only emotionally but also physically.  Some develop ulcers, others have a rise in blood pressure and there are many other health signs that we are carrying a load that is too heavy.  So how do we begin to lighten the load?   Well first we need to look and see what is in our immediate control.  I would probably say any external baggage is within our power to change.  It will all take work, diet is not easy, job changes are stressful, but in the long run will in turn make your life better.  The internal baggage will be more complicated and finding a place to start may require some reflection on your part.

During my reflection one day the Serenity Prayer came to mind:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Serenity is peacefulness, calm, tranquility, quietness and stillness.  If you are in a position where you cannot control when or how you dump your baggage keep those words in your mind.  Focus on the stillness of a pleasant moment or the peacefulness you will feel when you have found the courage to make the changes that you can; the calmness you will carry around when you have discovered the wisdom to know the difference.   These word’s can  help to bring you to a point of acceptance, courage and wisdom to continue to move you towards a positive change.

Courageous Butterfly

2/7/12

I stumbled upon this tonight when I was playing around in google and I was amazed!  It’s a butterfly hatching from a chrysalis and it’s in HD!

We have been talking a lot about struggles and how the caterpillar struggled to finally break free of the chrysalis.  Well watching this video really shows you how hard the caterpillar worked to be reborn into the world!  The chrysalis is translucent so it looks like it would be easy to break free from but it clearly is not.   When I first looked at the video I expected it to break free all at once, I had no idea how hard it was.  Sometimes people around us may be thinking the same thing about our struggle.  To outsiders it may look like we should be healing quicker or getting through our struggles faster.  But they are not in your cocoon so how could they know the work you have ahead of you.

Also notice once it does finally break free it clings to the cocoon.  It is still struggling with leaving that comfortable place and completing the transformation before it finally spreads open it’s wings to move forward.

Watching this video really makes you stop and think and it may help you to put things into perspective.  Yes you will have struggles but you will get through them eventually and once you are free you may have difficulty moving forward but eventually you will and your transformation will be complete.

The only downside is I wish this video had some soft music to go with it you’ll just have to imagine!  Enjoy!

Courageous Butterfly

2/2/12

I had quite the “wake up call” last night and it is definitely something I felt I needed to share.  It made me question “are we ever really mentally prepared for what is going on in our lives”?  When we see something coming it’s a natural instinct to prepare ourselves for the event.  Let’s use surgery for example we mentally prepare for the surgery itself, the recovery process and how we will be feeling afterward.   Do you think it’s possible to mentally prepare for something that you don’t know is coming?  I didn’t until now.

Last night I stumbled upon a journal I wrote  in 2006, yes a long time ago and I still have it!  Actually it was really a short book that I had written and never had published.  I decided to skim through it and I was amazed and upset by what I found.   When I started reading I was horrified at the thought that maybe I did see my divorce coming somehow and that I had just made excuses for the behavior of my ex.  I contributed a lot of it to his job and I was convinced that’s all it was.  Last night when I read it I truly felt like even though I really didn’t know what was happening at the time, I was mentally preparing myself for the future.

Could I have seen it all coming?  When I wrote that book six years ago did I have the foresight to know how my life was going to change?

What I really want to share with you from this experience is that it is very important to get in touch with your true feelings and emotions.  Obviously six years ago I was not in tune with mine.   I don’t know why I let that journal sit so long before going back and reading it but I’m glad I got it back out.  I think it will make a very good tool in my healing process.

If you are keeping a journal maybe it would be a good idea to go back and read it every once in a while to help you to stay in tune with your emotions.  Sometimes we write things that we cannot say out loud and you may be surprised by how you are feeling emotionally.  You may not even know it until you see it in writing just like I did.

Courageous Butterfly

1/30/12