What Stuff Do You Carry?

“Shall we never never get rid of this Past? ... It lies upon the Present like a giant's dead body.” ― Nathaniel Hawthorne

Our life can become a cluttered existence. What I mean is that we complicate things by gathering so many things. I'm not speaking simply of material things, but of gathering emotions. We collect the hurts and pains of being wronged along with the memories of what we may have done to others.

This "stuff" wears us down and impacts our ability to have a better life.

We carry those hurts and pains on our heart which limits our ability to have a truly great relationship with the rest of the world. It also limits our ability to have a great relationship with our belief; God, Buddha, Muhammad or any other forms.

I could go on about the "weight" of keeping all of this stuff we carry on our lives.

But I believe George Carlin said it best in his routine called All My Stuff. I believe he came out with this in August of 1981. My view is that even though it rails against materialism in life, it can easily draw a parallel to how we carry "emotional baggage" in life.

So without further adieu; George Carlin and "All My Stuff" for your reading pleasure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know?

That's all, a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know?

I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there.

That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff.

That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff.

And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff.

That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stop and think about all of that "stuff" you carry in your life. Empty some of those stones you carry in the wagon being pulled behind you. Lighten your load and get on with a greater life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Throwing Bricks

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." - David Brinkley

I guess in reality you are not walking down the street with people throwing bricks at you. It can certainly feel like it at times. The odd thing is that it also feels like you are picking up those same bricks to carry.

Think of it as a "double-whammy" in that you are being pelted with bricks and picking them up to carry away. You could say it is similar to a wagon full of rocks. An ever increasing load you allow others to put upon your life.

The weight and size of this load slows your progress and eventually break you down. It is a terrible thing to see a load of brick or rock come tumbling down upon someone's life. When it happens, there are only two possible results; complete destruction of the persons life or fighting renewal.

I have seen the destruction in people's lives. The kind in which they never recover and no matter how much you want; they are buried forever. It is a heart breaking process to watch but one that I learned from. No matter how heavy or burdensome, there is hope and possibility as long as life exists within you.

Start laying the bricks down, stop shouldering them and let them lift you. The foundation you build can serve a couple of purposes. One is to give you greater footing and raise you above the soft ground. A foundation that creates a means for you to reach greater heights.

These same bricks can be used to build a path for others to follow. A path that serves as an example to your spouse, your children, your friends, or others that are watching. Because the choices we make, the decisions on how we respond are being watched. Other people are learning by seeing how you respond and the path you lay for them will be everlasting.

Are you going to leave a pile of bricks or a nice brick path behind?

Stay inspired my friends!