Hello from a lovely, bright and sunny Chicago! I was traveling yesterday, so I am a bit late in sharing some thoughts/news/ideas with you. This week, I have had a wonderful opportunity to really discuss my Coaching business and my goals, theories and passions associated with Coaching. It has been such a gift to share my inspiration with you – thank you for letting me into your world.
During one of my many conversations, I used the phrase “emotional debris” – I’m not sure if I came up with that, or if I heard it somewhere else before…but I like it. It’s not the same as emotional baggage, though it refers to the same junk that has the ability to weigh us down. But it’s different. Baggage somehow implies that you made a choice along the way to get some bags, and then slowly (or quickly) fill them up with every difficult, awful or traumatic thing you’ve experienced….so, that you could throw these bags on your back and carry them through life. What?!? Who would do that? And by choice?
While we do make choices in our life that contribute to the emotional debris we have gathered; The only time we can really use the word “baggage,” is once we start on the path of health and wellness, and choose to hold on to things in the bags we carry. Before our conscious awareness of what’s going on around and within us – there’s no way we made a conscious and deliberate choice to carry all that junk around. And yet, it’s still there. So….it’s emotional debris.
It’s the wreckage of the decisions we’ve made in life, when we were unaware. As some would say, “when we were still sleeping.” Sleepwalking through life can create a lot of emotional debris. The difficulty (and work) comes in when we wake up and start to see and feel all the debris around us. It’s positively overwhelming. It would be like being Rip Van Winkle and suddenly waking up in the middle of your local garbage dump. For some, they would be waking up at the entrance of the dump, or on the perimeter of the giant heap. For others, they’re waking up in the middle of the giant heap – all the way on top, looking around them and seeing nothing but the debris. Oh…it’s heartbreaking. If only we hadn’t been asleep for so long….
So, here’s the thing. If we were “asleep” or moving unconsciously through life, that’s ok. Don’t beat yourself up about the past. Pause. Reflect on it. Learn from it. Then take a good look around you and assess where you are. If you’re on the perimeter of the dump, great – it might be a shorter walk for you to move out of the area. If you’re on top of the heap, it’s time to get to work. No matter where you are when you wake up in the middle of your emotional debris and take stock, nothing is impossible. The beauty of realizing that it’s “debris” and not “baggage” is that you can, and will, be able to move through it and walk away from it.
You can tidy it up, categorize it, move it, sort out the recycling….in other words: you can CHANGE your situation. The first step is to become aware. Look up and see what’s around you. The second step is to assess. See if you can identify and categorize the debris – both the quantity and quality of it. The third step is to take action for change. Pause. Reflect on what you see, and make a plan to move forward out of the debris. In the process, you will find that the debris may actually start moving away from you. Perhaps the Earth is absorbing it for you – be grateful. Perhaps you are getting some assistance from an outside source on dealing with the debris, and moving it out in batches. No matter how you approach it – emotional debris is not permanent. Just like we regularly clean our houses, our bodies and our environments….we also need to regularly clean our minds.
This week, take a moment to pause and reflect. Perhaps in a quiet place, or while journaling or meditating – look around you, get in touch with your inner self, and allow your mind’s eye to see where you are. See the local dump, and notice where you’re standing. This is the biggest step in moving forward into health, happiness and success….Simply knowing where you are, and becoming aware of what’s around you. Once you know this, you can take the necessary steps to change your situation.
In love and light,
Martina