Suitcases, Stuff, and Emotional Baggage: Climbing Mountains Instead of Carrying Them

“The mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”

–Najwa Zebian

We all have “stuff:” unresolved emotions that we drag along with us, suitcases packed full of past experiences that hurt us or shamed us, and keep us from moving forward—life’s baggage. But we were never meant to hold onto this “stuff,” and carry it with us.

The task of life is not to collect more “stuff,” or build more mountains

that only keep us further from our true selves and from each other. And this “stuff’— these wounds, traumas, hurts, whatever you want to call them—never seems to quite go away; they show up in our relationships, in our careers, and in our alone time when we are wracked with crippling anxiety and self-doubt.

But while we can’t forget about our “stuff,” nor can we leave it behind, we can change our relationship to it.  We can transform its meaning and purpose in our lives. Instead of being held back by our mountains or our hurts, we can use it to help us create a life of resilience; instead of being weighed down by our past, we can use it as an opportunity for growth.

We were all born to be mountain climbers. Put on your hiking boots, strap on that backpack. Your hike might take some detours, you might lose sight of the path. But you will get to the peak. And when you do, turn around. Look at how far you’ve come.

Need some help lightening your load for your trip? Questions about navigating? Drop me a line; I’d love to hear from you. suzanne@suzannegarrison.com

Illustration by Jon Ehinger