No Baggage, Please

Have you come across people who spend their time complaining about others? They can complain about the same subject for years and years but don't seem to get tired of listening to themselves.  People around them start avoiding them after awhile.

In their stories, it seems that they are the perpetual victims. The perpetrators  maybe their spouse, children, neighbour or even strangers. But the stories are essentially the same. They have been treated unfairly or badly yet curiously they allow the cycle of mistreatment to continue. They do not make the effort to confront the source of their complaints. At times, they are so absorbed in their suffering that they are not aware.

It seems that human nature is such that we are sometimes attached to our suffering.  The old and familiar is comforting. It is nice to play the same old records and get the sympathy of others and to get some attention.

Maybe all of us have been or are stuck in some old stories. We cannot move forward because we are not willing to confront the issues which keeps us stuck. It is too painful to dig up the old stuff.  This old stuff is our baggage, issues from the past we have not dealt with, usually out of fear.  Maybe it is to face up to the reality that our lives did not turn out the way we expect.  It could be the way our parents abused us or favoured our siblings over us.  Or we may be disappointed with our careers, spouses, children or friends. Maybe we felt we deserved better. Or that we were passed over by our bosses for a promotion.

Whatever it is,  if we don't deal with our hurt, pain and disappointments now, our emotional baggage just keeps getting heavier. Are we going to drag all of it to our graves? Or will we choose to unload them while we still can? Like it or not, we cannot run away from the truth of our lives. It catches up with us sooner or later.