Learn to Travel Light

Baggage. We all have some. (You do too! You know you do, so fess up!) Some of us have more than others. Whether you are lugging around a tattered duffel, or you have accumulated enough of a past to lay claim to a steamer trunk, you don't have to own it forever! (I have an old and threadbare 5 piece set that I'm trying to toss.) You can get rid of your baggage! I am living proof. I used to have a 6 piece set and a footlocker. Here's to freedom!

How to abandon your old useless baggage:

Step 1 - Acknowledge the baggage as useless.

Step 2 - Be willing to walk away without your baggage.

Don't worry. Security will not stop you.

Step 3 - See Step 1 again. Remember: Pointing out

another person's baggage doesn't count. Nice try,

though.

Step 4 - Don't try to leave all of your baggage at

once. A small carry-on bag is fine to start out with.

Leave the steamer trunk for a little later.

Step 5 - Don't try to get rid of your baggage by

ringing a friend's door bell, dumping it all on their

doorstep and running away. First of all, it's unfair

and obnoxious. Second, if you really like your friend

you won't leave an obstacle for them to trip over the

next time they venture out!

Step 6 - Remember that the idea behind clearing your

baggage cart is the idea of traveling light. Your

reward will be the feeling of freedom and

accomplishment. You will no longer have to carry that

weight around. Someone attached to a baggage cart, is

never fun at parties.  It's also a very bad idea to

bring your baggage into a relationship. Your new

favorite  person probably won't have the spare space

for all of your baggage. OK...an overnight bag is cool

but don't bring the footlocker with you!Bringing

baggage with you and asking your partner to help you

store it, is an imposition at the very least.It's

certainly a mood killer!

Step 7 - Open the first piece of baggage and look at

what you are hauling around. If you are dragging your

hated third grade teacher around with you to prove

that you won't succeed,you already know you don't want

her influence anymore. If you open that case and see

your ex and all of their baggage tucked in with

yours, you can take that to the nearest dumpster and

heave ho! (We call them ex.'s for a reason!) If you

are carrying around a joyless or harmful relationship

with someone, then ask yourself why.Seriously...why? Doesn't it make more sense to let go of the misery rather than cling to the baggage strap and drag that crap back onto the train? Duh?

Step 7 may be the most important step. In this step we

are facing our worst insecurities, our most horrible

fears and a deep well of failure and regret. It takes

a brave soul to open that case and look at the

darkness inside. You are that brave soul. You know

that its just useless baggage, with no power of its

own to stay with you. You have been the one clinging

to the handle. This is your life. You are the powerful

one. You can now be the one to recognize the things in

this case for what they are...and just...let go.

Step 8 - Swing your arm forward with all of your

strength, allowing momentum to help and let go of the

handle.

Step 9 - Watch that baggage soar into the nearest

trash can. (Yay! You did it! Woohoo!)

Step 10 - Take a deep breath, roll your neck and

shoulders to loosen up and flex those stiffened, tired

fingers. That felt great! That damn thing was getting

heavier every year!

Step 11 - Walk away...Really walk away. You won't

really miss it, you are just used to lugging that bag

with you everywhere you go. So...walk away and keep

walking.

Step 12 - Never-ever look back.

Wings

Did I say I wasn't brave? Guess what? I've discovered something really important. It takes bravery to walk forward. It takes courage to live and accept mistakes. I screw up sometimes. We all do. But if we can accept that and move forward, I think that counts as bravery. Sometimes we move forward alone...and sometimes we get pulled along by friends. I won't waste time regretting the decisions I've made. That's done and gone. Placing energy on things that are unalterable is just plain stupid. I'm not going to spend my life trying to fix something that wants to stay broken. I'm grateful for the lesson (not really- *laughs*) and hopefully I've passed the pop quiz and won't have to retake this particular class. This Jersey Girl has wings and she's not afraid to use them!

Strength

Bless me Google TM, for I have sinned. It's been eight months since my last post.

Quite a bit can occur in eight months. Sit back. I'll pour the margaritas and we can chat. It's funny how we can be so brave one moment and so cowardly the next. Ummm... maybe "cowardly" is too strong of a word? How about chicken****? No? Ok... let's go with "not quite as brave". Ask me to stand up to a situation for a friend and I won't hesitate. Ask me to state my opinion on the changes that continue to play out on the Second Life grid...oh, I won't shut up! But...ask me to tell a person how I feel about them and fight for love? ...Uh ...Is it raining outside? I thought I heard something. I'm the kind that walks away. I'm "reasonable". I'm the kind that doesn't want to be around if I think I'm not welcome. I had a couple of braver moments this year, but they fizzled. *laughs* I'm telling you this, because I used to be braver. I have danced in the flames and survived. What has happened to me to change that? I don't know. Maybe there are degrees to this sort of risk. Maybe the cost seemed so high that I choked. I don't know. What I do know is that I walked away from something I wanted with all my heart, because of fear. I told myself that it was better to be reasonable and let it go. I told myself that I shouldn't try. That I had no chance of success. Ok...maybe I didn't, but damn it...I should have tried. Instead, I have spent the past eight months working and trying to pretend I'm fine. When a friend almost broke up with her partner because of a *trust-pride-rejection* issue, I couldn't let her make the same mistake I did. I asked her to fight for love. They are together and happy. I couldn't fix my own life, but I'm glad my mistakes helped them. As for me? I will try not to make this same mistake again. I'll look for other mistakes I haven't tried yet.

There is one thing I have learned from all of this. We all have wings. We just forget we have them. Be brave. True strength comes from faith in yourself. Nothing and no one can take that away from you.

Betrayal

What inspires your soul? It's different for each of us. Some find career to be the *it* for them. For me it's always been love..... The kind of love that circulates through my system like blood. Love feeds my art, which in turn feeds back into the system. It inspires me and sends me flying in all sorts of creative directions.

We do not exist in a bubble. Everything we do affects others just as everything they do affect us. What happens when the source of our inspiration is cut off? Well, I thought the answer was .."uh starve?" It's not. The answer is that the source of inspiration cannot be *cut off*. I recently went through a difficult time, emotionally. I was very upset, angry, sad ...you name it. This is what I learned. Only you can cut yourself off from your muse. I did. I told myself I was so sad I couldn't build. I told myself that my creative side had "run dry". I was so distraught, that I needed a way to vent the sadness. So, standing on my Skyland, crying, I saw the piece that I needed to build...in my head. I began rezzing prims. I was blind to my surroundings. I ignored IM's. I poured every ounce of anguish into that sculpture, as I watched it form in front of me. When I was at the point where I saw a double vision...one in my head and one in front of me...I knew it was finished. I named it "Betrayal". I felt drained...like a poison was lanced from a septic wound. Then... I felt better. I learned that nothing could stop me from being me. I create. That act of creating is love. Creativity is something that lives within each us. No one can cut us off from that flow, although the source is harder to reach for at times, it never gets cut off. If you reach for your creative side during times of sadness and stress, not only will it be still there, but the act of creating can actually help you to heal. "Betrayal" is not a pleasant sculpture to view. How could it be? "Betrayal" is the embodiment of all that anguish that lived inside of me. I even find it hard to look at. But it also stands as a testament to love and proof that I am still me. We are capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. That wellspring is in each of us, nestled within our own unique spirits and talents. So next time you are in a room that is too dark, reach out to turn on the dang light! *laughs* Don't accept that it has to be dark. You'll just end up stubbing your toe or worse. *smiles*

A hell of a Valentine's Day post to put up, but hey ...it's real. lol