What are we carrying?

Do you remember doing the arm muscle experiment as a child? The one where you push your arm outwards against a fixed surface for 30 seconds, and when the object is removed, your arm keeps levitating by itself?

This is the Kohnstamm phenomenon (who knew!)

The point is, what are we pushing against or carrying without being aware of? Which takes us to places we don’t want to be. With consequences, we would not have chosen.

Sure, there are many things that are obvious. Like post-Christmas weight, obligations that come with the territory of a job. The over assertive other whom it’s difficult to refuse.

But what about our desire to please, earn respect or feel satisfied with ourselves? All those little cues we have adopted from the ground up on what good or success (or even failure) looks like.

What are we carrying that once served us well, but are now past their usefulness? What would it take to name them and wave goodbye?

We can’t deal with them all at once, though we can choose to walk less encumbered. Step-by-step moving with more ease.

I would love to be in the world with less baggage, running freely and responding without restriction.

And you… I’d love to see you fly.