Life's a Journey, Not a Sprint by Jennifer Lewis-Hall

Author:Jennifer Lewis-Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hay House
Published: 2003-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Leave Your

Bags

at the Door

A long your journey, you’ll accumulate a lot of emotional baggage, which can often rob you of your happiness and weigh down your soul as you travel. In this chapter, I’d like you to take a close look at what you’re carrying around every day, and work to get rid of those bags that are weighing you down.

Lightening the Load to See Your Blessings

Do you find yourself weighed down by breakup baggage? I find it interesting that so many of us have had relationships that lasted just a few months but took years to get over. It’s important to learn to release the bad feelings and move on.

Are your bags stuffed with anger because you’re still holding out on telling your sister she’s got a sharp tongue? I know about this one firsthand. Once I got into an altercation with some family members, and I refused to speak to them until they apologized. But a funny thing happened—I found myself becoming more and more angry as time went on, and I actually forgot what we’d been arguing about originally. And so, I picked up the phone and dealt with the situation. Sure, it was difficult for me to swallow my pride and do this, but in the end, it felt much better than just stewing in anger.

Have you filled your bags with disappointments over jobs or promotions you didn’t get? Have faith that the right opportunities will come along at the right time, even though you may not feel that the time is right. It’s natural to feel discouraged at some point or another, but I’ve personally found that the saying “Things happen for a reason” holds true. Let me explain what I mean by this.

On our graduation day from college, my friends and I were walking in our caps and gowns toward the ceremony. We were excited as we discussed our hopes and dreams for the future. One of my friends wanted to get married and start a family right away; another was headed to graduate school. I, too, was going to get an advanced degree, but I didn’t plan to marry or start a family for at least 20 years.

To my surprise, I was the first one in this group to get married and have a child—all of which happened just a couple of years after I completed grad school. These life-changing events have added a richness and texture to my life that I wouldn’t have necessarily had if I’d rigidly adhered to my original plan. I truly believe that my path unfolded this way for a reason. You see, when I started my family, I focused on them, giving and receiving love in the midst of shaping an extremely busy and often challenging career. What I didn’t know—or couldn’t possibly have seen on that graduation day—was that having a family would actually help me succeed. It added harmony to my life and kept me grounded. I’m reminded at the end of each and every day what is ultimately most important to me, and that’s family.

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