“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it.”

-Lena Horne-

We live our lives carrying the weight of our pasts; heavy stories about who and how we are. We always hear, “You’ve got to let that go.” It’s sound advice, but how does one do that? Is that even possible? For me, it’s not about letting go, but about loosening the grip and learning not to drag that weight. When we are laboriously dragging something along, we have no choice but to keep a tight grip on that thing. It holds us back, makes us slow. In order to loosen the grip, we must learn to bring that weight into alignment with our center of gravity so it may come into balance.

Our lives are like this. Even though the past is gone forever, there’s no getting around the fact that it sticks with us in certain ways. The issue then is how we choose to carry it. I believe the answer lies in bringing your past into your present (the center of gravity). When we approach our past (and future for that matter) from a present perspective, our lives and consciousness come into balance. Then, instead of dwelling in and agonizing over a time that does not exist, we can examine its true nature in the moment. If we can do this, we often find that the burden of the past is not so heavy as we made it out to be.

Wishing you a glorious Saturday.

By Terence Stone

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Terence Stone Chief Editor and Founder of Urban Spiritual, I’m a Software Engineer, and a classically trained singer and actor living in NY.