Luggage is one of those things that reminds us that despite our individuality, that our favorite - and even some of the more worn and tattered - pieces of luggage that we collect through life remain present in all our journeys. While this may appear to be a simplistic and popular cultural motif as far as analogies are concerned, it should not be taken lightly - only handled lightly.
Those who understand this are fundamentally different from those who do not. Meanings may be experienced and processed differently by different people, but those who find themselves unburdened by this notion can work in creative conjunction with traditions and impulses - voluntary and unvoluntary ones - and still accomplish a more or less vividly conceived ideal of life ... wherever and however that life comes into being.
It is like arriving to a foreign airport and knowing exactly which piece of luggage emerging from the carousel of curiosities is your own.
Just grab it and go!
Analyzing and assessing our adventures, complicated or simple, into self-sufficing, natural expressions of who we are as individuals lifts us from our uniquely experienced nuance of reality into a type of super-reality where the touch-stone is defined by that which we want out of life rather than that which we adopt as our own.
It's not that some of us aren't already doing exactly what we want to do in our uniquely-lived lives, but the key is in the knowing ... knowing that we are doing exactly what we want to be doing ... and if we're not 100% certain about what that is, giving ourselves permission to figure it out - FAST!
Our entire lives are shaped according to the beliefs we hold. If we formulate an opinion that we have to do something specific (for whatever logical reason), or that we have to do things in a certain way (for another logical reason), we sometimes miss out on the opportunity to put those things to the test.
Admittedly testing out our opinions takes time ... and like Descartes, we have to carve out a special space for ourselves so that we don't get lost along the way - but even if we do get a little lost, we always know where we are ... so long as we know ourselves.
And getting a little lost can feel a whole lotta good! It livens things up, shakes things about and moves things around so that we can see what's underneath, behind, or, in some cases, no longer even there.
Of course, you've got to know who you are, what makes you tick, and what makes you tock ... and sometimes it takes time and a whole lot of adventures to match what you know on the inside with that which you surround yourself on the outside. But once you know that place inside, every place outside becomes a delightful mirror that allows the best of ourselves to shine forth.
If what emerges isn't an absolutely delightful experience of self, then you might want to invest some time thinking about that ...
The conceptualization of self integrates all the pieces of luggage we've collected, returned, used, misused, reused, donated, shared, given freely or hung onto for sentimental reasons.
All we need to do is deflate a little air from the more bulky suitcases in order to make room for those fun things we want to bring along ...
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