Excess Baggage

    

     There was a young boy who had a cat.  The boy loved this cat with all his heart and the cat loved him.   The boy would spend as much time as he could in the company of his beloved cat.

     One day the boy let the cat outside and got busy doing something else. When he remembered the cat, he ran outside to find it.  The cat had been killed by a passing car and lay dead at the side of the road.

     The boy was so sad and he placed the cat in a bag and buried it. The next day, being so overwhelmed with guilt, he dug the cat up. Everyday he did this, and everyday the cat looked worse and the boy felt more guilty.

     It's not a pretty story but it carries a strong message.  We need to let go of the guilt.  Packing guilt around with us day after day can take its toll on us mentally and physically.  It serves no good purpose to keep bringing it back up to the conscious level of our attention and dwelling on it.

     What is done, is done.  There is no going back and re-writing the chain of events that led to feeling guilty.  Understand too, that you are not alone, we all have guilt of some kind.  Do not compare your guilt to another's, thinking your guilt is worse, doing that only keeps you in a lower place. 

     Take your guilt, put it in a bag and bury it.  Then leave it there. Don't continue to dig it up because like the cat, it will only look worse.  It's excess baggage you do not need.  There's always light at the end of the tunnel and a much higher power that loves you regardless of your past.  Don't wait until you get to meet that higher power to check your baggage.