22 September 2017. In this life, baggage is a given. Emotional, physical, psychic--just a few of the categories where we might feel a little extra weight. Yet baggage tends to get a bad rap, as though each of us should be free-wheeling and unfettered despite life's hard knocks.
We stand firmly in the camp of baggage = natural and good, but we recognize that sometimes we need relief from the weight of lessons learned. With wisdom and perspective safely set aside for a minute, we can free up space in our minds and bodies for new insights, thoughts, and imaginings.
In our day to day lives, we turn to a literal interpretation of that safe storage space. Curled up with a good book or a video line-up, we keep a small tray beside us that holds the few things we carry throughout the day: phone, glasses, water. We've come to accept that these items are almost a part of us but it feels good to let them go once in a while. The tray cradles them, keeping those fragile specs safe and the phone out of the couch cushions, and makes it easy to carry everything with one hand when it's time to move.
We've been thinking of these trays also as a perfect gift for a host or as a smart addition to a mulit-part-present. What nicer thing to give someone than the gift of respite? You're sending the message that, yes, you deserve to take a break from the struggle, and, in fact, it's important to do so. We're all navigating life's twists and turns, but it's how we get from place to place--and how we manage that baggage--that paints a picture of who we are and who we are becoming.
*above image courtesy Jenny Hallengren