Imagine that you were wearing an empty backpack, and someone came along and dropped a small stone into it. The change in weight would be so minimal that you wouldn’t even notice, right? Now imagine if someone added an additional stone every day. For the first 10 or 20 days, the added weight would still be manageable. But what about after 60 days, 90 days or 120 days? Over time, that backpack would start to become uncomfortably heavy and cumbersome. Even so, because of the backpack design you could still carry it for a time, but it would probably begin to cause you some pain eventually.
These stones are an apt analogy for the burdens we carry throughout our lives. Many of them seem so small individually that they hardly make a difference, but as they continue to add up over the years, they can interfere with our ability to truly enjoy our lives.
Are you still carrying a collection of heavy burdens that are weighing you down and preventing you from moving forward with a sense of lightness and freedom? These heavy burdens might be old hurts that you haven’t yet released, or past mistakes that still make you feel angry and ashamed. Even if you have learned how to adapt and carry them well, they might still be weighing on you more than you know.
A good way to start releasing them is to choose one burden each day, one memory, one old hurt, one regret. Take it out of your backpack and hold it in your hands. Allow yourself to feel the feelings connected to it, and relive the memory in your mind, just for a minute or two. Then express your intention to release it permanently. “I choose to let go of this old burden. I no longer need to carry it with me. I turn it over to the universe to be healed and transformed.” Then imagine it dissolving into a ball of light and evaporating.
Some of your burdens might be easy to release, but some might be heavier than others, and for those you may need to repeat this process a few times to fully release them. Surrender to the process and allow it to take as long as it takes.
You may also have some burdens that are not from the past, but rather things that you are struggling with in your life right now. For those, you obviously might not be able to release them quite yet, but at least express your intention to release the struggle connected to them. Say something like this: “I surrender this challenge to a loving universe. I let go of all struggles and I invite a sense of ease into this situation.”
Then do your best to truly let go of it for the moment. If you begin to feel weighed down by it again later, repeat the process until you feel lighter in the moment. By continuously doing this with your burdens, both past and present, your energy becomes much more light and open, which makes you more receptive to fresh new beginnings in all areas of your life.
