Emotional Baggage

We all have them. It has many faces. We carry them around us; we store them in the remotest part of our brain, in the deepest chambers of our hearts. We have them in our extensive database of memories. Some are so close to the heart, it brings out tears at the slightest provocation. Others may feel anger, very deep resentments and may exhibit anti-social or antagonistic behaviours.

Shadows follow and haunt many, in their dreams or waking hours, in unlikely places, unexpected and intimidating. Uncontrollable anger that can lead to violence can explode without warning.

Others will live in denial and spend their lives disconnected with the real world. Some will find blame in everyone except themselves; it is always the other person’s fault. What do we believe about the victims and the victimizers?

Many are lost searching for something, they cannot identify. Something is missing. A mass of lonely faces line the crowded streets, sit in public places, in schools, agonize through the day in the workplace, gather at churches perhaps to seek solace every day. We see a vast sea of sad, depressed, and unfriendly faces. Our roads are open avenues to lash out their frustrations, thus uncontrollable road rage.

Emotional excess baggage demands a high price at times. There are those who succumb to the weight of this burden, it gets too much to bear. They find no further reason to keep up the fight. Life loses its lustre; they find the world cruel, their existence meaningless. To these people, the fight over, if there ever was a fight.

There are many who go through life like a driftwood, the current take them wherever, it does not matter anymore. Is our world this cruel?

What causes these emotional suffering?

Broken dreams, broken relationships, failed careers, lost hopes, betrayals, violations, childhood trauma, or other forms of trauma, add to this health issues. Social disgrace, financial disasters, poverty, and addictions cast deep emotional scars to the most vulnerable members of the family and society.

Is our fast-paced society to blame? Add to this the pursuit of material success, endless toys, gadgets and exponential advances in technology. Fragile relationships, weakening family ties, unreasonable expectations of self and of others add to the already overstuffed emotional baggage. Some carry them for a long, long time.

All is not lost, if we take a moment to listen to our deeper needs, beyond the physical. There is a flood of information, organizations, professionals, and other resources offered to each of us. Deep emotional suffering is a critical issue that can no longer be ignored, by society and by those who suffer. There is more to life.

Wisdom of the ages from different cultures and beliefs are revived or revised to suit the present psyche of society. It offers a holistic approach, involving the whole person’s mind, body, and spirit.

The wonders of medical and scientific research are vast, although pill popping is not always the best answer.

Take stock of the weight of your emotional baggage and once you do make a decision to I want to carry this around with me or do I need to set some of the baggage down.