Close your eyes and imagine yourself wearing a backpack and in that backpack is the weight of the lives of those who came before you.
Can you feel the stress it creates in your neck and shoulders?
Can you feel the pain in your low back?
You try to stand tall each day while being pulled down by this heavy load of things that happened to you or within your family tree?
Carrying the weight of our past and our ancestors past is a huge burden to carry. So do we unpack the contents of the backpack or do we just put it down?
During a conversation I was having with another mom this week, we began talking about how we wanted life different for our kids. She said in order to keep her children safe and at peace she knew she would have to face the traumas of her past and her relationship with her family.
She needed to unpack the contents of her backpack.
There was a time I also wanted to take out what was weighing me down. I needed to let go of resentment and hurt. Stop reflecting on what was and could have been. I needed all of the different size nesting dolls of each stage of my life to feel at peace.
Then a few years ago, I felt a shift within me. I didn't want to unpack past traumas of my own life or my families. I was ready to just take the pack off of my back. Through my yoga practice off the mat, I found more peace and clarity in my life. I was able to slowly take one strap and then the other off.
I took off my generational backpack and left it on the road behind me.
Whether you choose to take the items out of your backpack slowly or to take it off your back without ever opening it. My wish for you is that you find peace.
Peace within yourself so you can share that peace with others, especially those you love.
With love and kindness,
Wendy
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