Carrying Your Baggage

Sincere seekers for any meaningful ground to stand on in today’s jungle of alternatives must be prepared to carry their own luggage. They will need a good supply of common sense, a little healthy skepticism, and the ability to stand their ground if the way of others does not seem to be their own way.

It is not important whether seekers choose to do their exploring and discovering inside a place of worship or outside one, their learning inside or outside the walls of academia. Some naturally prefer the greater flexibility of a “loner.” Others need the support of a group. Just as each of us is unique, so too should be the path of our connectedness.

Frances Wosmek Acknowledge The Wonder Cited in Meditations for The New Age

The spiritual pursuit for meaning, for purpose, for your own best answers to the riddles and conundrums of life is, and will remain, essentially an individual one… Not necessarily a lonely one at first, and for some there will always be an element of social interaction… but… no one can do the work for you!

I can remember an axiom given to me that declared ”You are responsible for your own evolution!” and I hold this statement from decades ago, to be abidingly true. Yes, we certainly do benefit from groups, from instruction by others, and we can glean significant insights from the thoughts and behaviors of others along the path, but ultimately it is just you… and how you understand the Mystery; the Divine; the Source; God.

The author, who had a family member that I met early in my ministry over a very tragic incident, mentioned her book to me… I welcomed the reference and read it with appreciation. Her style was direct, as we read here, the pithy acknowledgment that we will “have to carry our own luggage.” Now, this could simply refer to a need for self-reliance, independence, or autonomy. It also could refer to how the more common term” baggage” can be substituted for luggage, as we need to deal with and resolve anything that holds us down, holds us back, creates barriers to understanding and awareness.

Our task is to carry, and then to be prepared to release, and let go of these obstacles so that more opportunities for growth, grace, and wisdom can take their place… Both ways to look at this journey are true…