Emptying Suitcases

I guess the announcement should have read like this: “The Casas family is proud and happy to announce the birth of their first baby girl. They are grateful for this blessing and wish their dreams to come through with her arrival.” I’m sure it was something like that. Well, the baby girl grew up to be the opposite of those dreams, at least the way they have planned it; nothing wrong with that. You see, it usually happens that the minute we are born, an inherited purpose is automatically passed on to us. We arrived here and right after that first breathe, a long list of expectations are attached to us. That is in fact our first load. I still remember the voices of my family…you have to do this, become that, follow this. I guess it was a natural tendency, self-created experiences, or just the way the universe had planned it but the fact is that I began breaking all their dreams and plans from an early age. I refused to carry a load which somehow didn’t belong to me.

But then I grew up. As we grow old, we manage to add an excessive amount of weight to our shoulders. So, I studied and became a mother (not in the same order). I wanted to achieve for my family. I wanted to get. I wanted to own, I wanted to be successful. With every want, an extra heavy parcel was packed. At the verge of breaking myself, I questioned the heavy baggage I was carrying. What does being successful have to do with it? It seemed like the more I had the less time I could spend enjoying the things that really made me happy; and in my book, there’s no success without happiness and the joy of waking up every morning feeling grateful and fulfilled. I had totally lost the vision of my own purpose!

Again, against all odds, I started getting rid of that excess baggage that had been consuming my life behind the false veil of the wants, the success, and the pretensions of being according to others. Of course, after so many years of drastic changes and decisions, my family has gotten used to me and my view of what life is. Today, I travel light. I manage to follow my true and simple purpose. I’ve been at the top, rolled to the middle, crashed at ground level, and raised again under my terms. I decide what to throw in my suitcases and for how long.

The product has been an amazing feeling of peace and a light weight over my shoulders, the ability to truly enjoy every minute, even those of critical conditions and, in the end, the respect, admiration, and unconditional love of a family who now agrees that they should have re-written that announcement like this: The Casas family is proud and happy to announce the birth of their first baby girl. They are grateful for this blessing and eager to see what she might become as she follows her own and unique path.”