Why would you want to carry my baggage?

 

I have a lot of baggage, some passed on to me and some which I have gathered from my trip here on this earth. One day, when I walking all alone, you came along and I liked your pretty smile and dancing eyes and asked if you wanted to walk with me. To my absolute delight, you agreed, and I was overjoyed, I was so happy that I would have someone to walk with me. And even though I liked walking alone, I also liked your company. Maybe when you came along, I realised walking together was much more fun. I was so happy in my own walk, that till now, I had failed to see how other’s walk was beautiful too… It was easy, easy walking with you, steps seemed lighter, and less tiring, and more fun.

One day, as we were walking and I huffed and heaved, you looked at me and my bag and asked me, “That looks heavy, you want me to help you carry it?”

And I looked in awe and wondered why would you want to do that, because I saw your baggage too. Yours looks so heavy already, why would you want to carry mine too? I wonder this because I wanted to help you carry yours, but then I was afraid, I was afraid because I have so much baggage of my own and I can’t even carry mine and here I was thinking about helping you… Besides there were people who had taken one look at my baggage and decided that they didn’t want to walk with me at all.

So, hesitantly, I asked you why and you giggled, “maybe because I enjoy your company, despite all that baggage”, you explained shyly, “but also, because I am a bit selfish. Because sometimes, my baggage seems lighter, when I am with you and maybe that is I want to keep walking with you and so I want to help.”

Your words seemed honest, and if were to be sincere, maybe it was also why I liked walking with you, I enjoyed your companionship, because when I laughed with you, I felt my baggage getting lighter, more bearable and then it hit me that maybe that is how it was… sometimes when your baggage seems light, you agree to carry your partner’s too… and when your arms ache, they agree to carry yours, and then a beautiful symbiosis is formed.

And as I pondered, you shyly whispered again, “I can see you thinking too hard,” you gently smiled. “You know what I think sometimes… sometimes, when I am with you, I feel that I can keep my baggage on the ground and rest a bit.  Maybe I don’t need you to carry my baggage, and you don’t need to carry mine, and we just need to place it on the ground and rest a bit, however, it is only with you that I feel comfortable enough to rest my baggage on the ground. I know you’ll guard it. I know that you don’t mind slowing down to rest a bit.”

Your words seemed like an epiphany, my baggage seemed non-existent when I was with you, when we made our pit-stops, it seemed that the baggage had disappeared, especially when I dipped biscuits in your tea, and you ate my sandwiches and playfully straddled my waist as we looked at the starry night sky. 

“But mine is dirty,” I mutter wistfully. “Unlike the rest.”

“Well, I guess I also have unwashed underwear, and maybe a tattered dress which I am still not ready to throw out, so I think we are even,” you say with a wink.

The words make me feel lighter, my bag also seems lighter, almost magically. I smile back, counting myself grateful to have stumbled upon you.

We initially pack our bags with things which are essential and then sometimes we pack in things on our way which cause us pain because we are unwilling to throw it away, and sometimes, someone has to come, to help us reason, to help us gain perspective, to help us let go of the old so that we can make space for the new items that we shall collect further along this journey. And maybe it was true, maybe we didn’t require to carry other’s baggage’s, we just needed to find someone with whom we can feel comfortable enough to rest our baggage on the ground, open it, rearrange it and close it up back again.  

Often, we think we are weak, our belief in our own strength is so weak that we never try to make an effort, because it seems so heavy and tiring. And hence, we all keep waiting, for someone to come and help us pick up our baggage while never picking it up ourselves. However, we are stronger than we think, and the more load you carry, the stronger the muscles become, but then since we don’t believe that we have muscles, we remain weak, until someone comes along and cheers for us, believes in our strength, and suddenly we are able to carry the weight all on our own. It is the belief which makes all the difference, and someone cheering for us along the side lines. Sometimes, we all need our personal cheerleader to get through this journey.

I will carry yours and when mine gets heavier, you can carry mine and if we both need to rest, we’ll wrap our arms around each other, and rest our baggage on the ground. And then we shall walk again... together, supporting each other, and loving each other with our baggage’s, because we all have our bags, because when you undertake this journey of life, you need a bag, you can’t undertake it without a bag and more often than not, we all have dirty laundry, it isn’t something to be ashamed of us. Own it, own your bag and when you own it, it shall get easier to carry.  

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African proverb – If you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.

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Hope you guys enjoyed reading this! Do leave a comment if you did! Hope you all have a nice day and find someone to walk with! Also do share it with people who have brought you joy and made life easier!