Like any good story starts, I was out shopping at Target the other day. I was only making a short trip and had only planned on buying a couple of things, so as I walked through the doors, I skipped straight past the shopping carts and started heading towards the aisle that I needed.
But, as you know, it’s Target, and before I even got 25 feet inside the door, I got distracted by the dollar section.
Cute valentines day cards for your friends that are only $1… yes, pahleese! You know, I really do need some new kitchen hand towels because mine are too wintry heading into spring. and oh my gosh, these crocodile erasers?! they would look so cute on my dresser, and they’re ~puzzles~ in case I get bored in class.
Before I knew it, my 1-2 item list had already expanded to 4-5, but hey it’s Target, so that’s to be expected.
With a couple new things in hand, I finally started heading towards the things that I actually came for. I started browsing the aisles pulling out what was on my list.
But as I went along, I began to realize I needed a few more things than I had remembered. I began collecting each of these items, gathering them into my arms, and rearranging them every time I picked up something new.
And before I knew it, I was carrying so many things that my arms were literally so full that I couldn’t carry anything else.
The first thing I thought to myself, I should have grabbed a shopping cart.
Now while this might seem like a relatively silly story that many of us can relate to (the Target effect, am I right?), the real reason I am sharing this little anecdote is because I think it actually relates a lot to life.
Think of it like this.
As we go through life, we come across a lot of things that we “pick-up” along the way. Relationships, worries, problems, fears, failures, challenges. All of the these things that we need to make us into the people who we are.
But, like the Target story, every time we pick something up, we begin carrying it with us.
At first it’s not that difficult: we only have one or two things to carry. The load is rather light, and we can carry it on our own. But as we keep going, we keep picking up more and more things along the way. Suddenly, it’s not so easy to carry them all anymore.
All of the things that we take along with us, get harder and harder to hold. And when we hold on to too many things, it begins to weigh us down.
That’s when it becomes time to let go of trying to carry it all.
Enter the shopping cart.
All of the things that we pick up along our way through life, are things that we need. Good and bad, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and shapes us into the incredible people that we are.
But the damage comes from when we keep trying to hold onto all of them.
When we keep holding onto our problems, fears, stresses, and past, it adds up quickly and begins to weigh us down. Even as we try to rearrange and fit everything inside of us, it makes it difficult to keep going and prevents us from having space for new things in our life.
On the other hand, if we put these things aside, we not only lift a huge burden off of ourselves, but we become free and open to live our best life.
I know this is way easier said than done. Letting go is hard and even scary.
But, letting go does not always mean getting rid of completely. We can still keep these things a part of our identity and let them be what makes us who we are.
Letting go just means deciding to not carry the weight with you anymore.
So let it go. Set it down. Stop holding onto every little thing.
Let your self be free from the things that hold you back and open yourself up to the greater things that lie ahead.
Oh and next time you go to Target, grab a shopping cart :)