Saturday, May 24, 2008

Wings 4 You - Catching Up

Being as I've been sick for 2 weeks and pretty much stranded on my backside (the full length of it!), I've missed two weeks of Weekly Wings journeys. I've really missed it, too!!

Here is #9: Baggage Overload

You know what your dreams are, and perhaps you even have an idea of how you want to go about making them come true. Yet you find yourself stalling, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of how or where to start. Maybe you tell yourself that you'll get going "tomorrow," even though you wish you felt like starting today. So what's holding you back? If you're like most of us, it's the heavy baggage that you need to ditch before you can move forward. Now I'm not talking about the kind of baggage that falls into the categories of serious physical and emotional problems; those kinds of issues may require the help of medical or mental health professionals. I'm talking about baggage in the form of "stuff" - possessions, habits, behaviors, and relationships that take a great deal of time and energy from your life and its true purpose.

It takes energy and nurturing to foster personal growth. Yet often we find ourselves up against a variety of obstacles that keep us from steadily moving forward, much like rush hour traffic on a highway with a closed lane. We've all experienced that feeling of trying to get quickly from one place to another, but having to constantly put on the brakes and slow down to a crawl every few yards. We get edgy, we feel irritable; we may even lose our temper. And how does it feel by the time we finally reach our destination? Does it ever seem as if it weren't worth the trouble of the trip? The same idea applies to the heavy baggage (tolerations) in our lives that functions as speed bumps on our own personal highways.

This week's challenge is the first in a series that is designed to help you achieve the balance you need to go forward with clarity and power. Over the next several weeks, we will work on systematically eliminating the tolerations in the major areas of your life that slow your progress and keep you from living the best life you can imagine.

Your Call to Adventure
Bountiful Universe

Your challenge this week is very simple - give something away! We receive more in our lives when we make room for it, so this week's challenge is to put that universal law into action by creating a space that can be filled with a positive gift from the universe. There are a few rules:

Choose something that you've been holding on to for a long time (two or more years is a good starting point) because "it's too good to get rid of" or you "might want to use it someday." I'm not talking about something that is an important souvenir or special keepsake; I'm talking about something of quality or value (by this I mean it isn't just "junk") you've held on to out of habit. It's probably in a closet or on a shelf, and it's cluttering up your physical space. You know what I'm talking about! Acknowledge that you're keeping it as a symbol of something that is no longer relevant in your life, and that you will be one step closer to freedom if you release it. Think of someone who would enjoy or benefit from receiving this item. It could be an individual or an organization. Visualize what you need to do to transfer the item from you to the recipient, and think of how it will positively impact that recipient. Finally, give it away - with joy, love, and no strings attached.

Ahh, this was a relief for me, because it's not really anything I have to do or change. I am a CHAMPION PURGER -- to the point that Double BB has to keep me away from his piles. If my sentimental attachment to anything has dissolved, I find a new home for it. Ditto clothing I haven't worn in a season ... I just don't hang onto stuff. I.E. if ever I outgrow my ceramic birds, then I'll ask the universe for help in finding someone who would love them as much as I have while the attachment was present -- and someone is always presented to me. So Dame Carla actually assigned a task I practice as a constant!!!

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