Travel lightly my friends. Give up your unconscious pain and habits;nthey weigh you down. Accept your birthright to be joyous and free.n—AnonymousnnWhen was the last time you flew on a plane? Have you noticed that the weight limits for baggage have been significantly lowered? I discovered this at the airport recently when taking an international flight. At first it bothered me as I am a person that likes to have as much of my stuff as close to me as possible. Then I discovered that there is a significant cost associated with going over the weight limit, and I asked myself, “Why do I need to carry around so much stuff anyhow?” What am I afraid of not having that I might need?nnWhat we do not realize, or remember, is that we already have everything we need. The universe provides everything we need, right away, all the time. We are the ones who think that we need to bring all of our stuff with us. It is not only our physical belongings that we drag around either. Many of us have been hauling our emotional baggage along with us since childhood. How heavy are your emotional bags? How long have you been carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? What extra price are you paying for insisting that you continually lug all of your stuff with you?nnIn actuality, the weight of your “baggage” is only that which you choose to assign to it. I will give you an example. I watched my dad die as a result of a heart attack he had in our swimming pool when I was just four years old. For many years I chose to feel like a victim about that fact. I was defining my experience as negative and chose to play the “poor me” role for a long time. As part of my growth and personal development, I have realized that I can choose to remember this situation differently, and I have the choice to change my beliefs about it. I decided to change the truth I chose to assign to that memory. I now choose to feel grateful to my dad for putting me in a position that has caused me to become the person I am today: a person who is strong, independent, driven, capable, resourceful, and a whole lot more! How could you choose to see your “baggage” differently? Who have you become as a result of what you have had to endure? Are you willing to choose to assign a new truth to those seemingly negative events? Are you ready to lighten your load?nnThere are many ways to lower your emotional baggage burden. One approach you could start with is to count your blessings. What in life are you grateful for? What have you accomplished that you are proud of? What positive things do others say about you? Noticing, documenting, and appreciating the blessings in your life magnetizes the energy of the universe and reduces your resistance so that you have room for more wonderful experiences, people, and things to be invited into your space. When you rest in a state of positive appreciation, you feel as though more things are possible, and your load becomes lighter.nnI encourage you to make your list today of all the blessings in your life and then see how many more you can add each day! I like to call it an Appreciation Log. Some call it a Gratitude Journal. It does not matter what you call it, as long as it feels good to you. I would find, make, or buy some paper or a notebook that makes you feel wonderful. Go to your computer, the office supply store, or a stationery store and create or select something pleasing to you so that it reinforces the positive energy you are putting into your list. Keep your log handy so that it is easily accessible for you to recount your blessings daily. This will ensure that you keep it going for as long as you desire. I suggest trying to maintain your log for at least a month, then try for a quarter, then six months, and finally see if you can keep it going for a year. One time, when I had a series of positive, successful events happening in my life, I noticed that I had been adding something new to my log every day for the previous six months! The blessings kept unfolding and multiplying simply by my noticing them, documenting them, and appreciating them, and the same can happen for you!nnThe next thing that I do to keep my load light on a daily or weekly basis is to look at my Feel Good Photo Book©. This is a pocket photo album that I purchased and filled with pictures that I took or cut out of a magazine that make me feel wonderful. I put beautiful pictures of nature in it, pictures of my family and closest friends, pictures of people laughing, photos of places I have traveled to that I just love, pictures of my pets, and so on. The key is to not put in pictures that have any sort of negative association in the slightest. There cannot be anything but joy produced by looking at these photos. I keep my Feel Good Photo Book in my car so that it is handy whenever I may need a lift. It takes about 30 seconds to a minute to flip through the book, instantly feel better, and shift the energy of the day.nnAnother technique I have been using lately to keep my emotional bags light is something I call my Pocket Full of Possibilities. On a recent trip to Asia I acquired a small piece of jade and an antique coin. Each morning, I place them both in my pocket, and I am reminded of their presence throughout the day either by their light jingling when I reach to pay for something or by removing them in the evening. I associate these objects with the building of the Great Wall of China and of how successfully the Japanese have rebuilt their country after being destroyed by atomic bombs. I use these items to inspire me to think that if people could accomplish those incredible things on the other side of the world that long ago, then anything is possible, and what can I do today? What possibilities would you create today if you knew you could do anything? If your load were lighter?nnCan you imagine how good you would feel if you did not carry around the load that you have been used to carrying for so long? What would it take for you to be willing to let it go? What are you willing to do today, this minute, to lighten your load? Are you ready to:nn1. see your baggage differently and assign a new truth to it?n2. count your blessings?n3. begin an Appreciation Log?n4. create a Feel Good Photo Book?n5. produce a Pocket Full of Possibilities?nnWe make time for the things that are important to us. Where does your motivation to change fall on your personal scale of importance? Would it not be nice if there was a limit to the amount of emotional baggage we could carry? There is. Your limit is up to you. You get to choose if you want your load to be heavy or light. So then why not travel lightly, my friends?nn** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit
http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways3.html n