Remember those remarkably cliched quotes? Those that went along the lines that ‘life is a journey’? Well, they weren’t exactly wrong. In fact, I’ve come to learnt that our life’s journey is really much like taking a backpacking trip.
Think of it this way, it goes forward, never backwards. The real baggage we bring with us, are really small, compact articles that are close to the heart. No doubt some stops we’ll be leaving with a bit more, but eventually it will be left behind due to the realities of life.
Sometimes we spot something fancy and we bring it along. But anything that is ‘just’ fancy more than often turns out to be our greatest baggage.
A remarkable quote by Beverly Clark in the movie “Shall We Dance?” goes something like this:
“There’s a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things… all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.”
And really, not just in relation to your spouse, but the people who truly love you and are loved by you will more often stand beside you and witness your journey, not be part of the baggage that you will need to lug around. They wouldn’t tie you down at all.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Those who have found your loved ones, congratulations. Those who have not, open your eyes a little, your journey may already have encompassed these ‘witnesses’.
and we long to be free one day…
