Bag of Bricks....

As we go through life, with all of its joys and sorrows, the good times and bad, we gather up experiences like so many leaves in the fall.  Memories, both good and bad, make up the fabric of who we are, how we see the world, what we do in those quiet moments in between.  

Some look forward to the next adventure, others look around and enjoy the moment. For many of us, however, especially later in life, we spend those moments looking back over our memories - both the ones we cherish and, yes, those we regret.  Reflecting on the past is not a bad thing: it can be heart-warming and wondrous; it is healthy and good to cherish moments gone by.  Too often, however, we look back at the darker times, less cheerful moments - the sadness and sorrow of days gone by.   These heavier thoughts - the regrets of things done or not done, words said or not - become a burden of fascination, a heavy load we carry around for years and years, letting the mind and soul gnaw on them like an old bone in some hope of understanding, of reconciling, of coming to terms with things locked forever in the past.

These are the bricks we carry around that way us down, that steal precious moments out of the day and rob us of opportunities for new adventure.  Each of us carry within our hearts our very own bag of bricks, full of heavy and loathsome thoughts, weighing down our soul - one brick at a time.  Some days, we are strong and the burden seems light; other days we cannot get out of bed, we cannot start the day, we cannot dig our way out from beneath the pile.  Everyone has good days and bad, of course, but no one's day is better because of the bricks they keep carrying around.

Bag of bricks - Take a look, see what you're carrying around.  Ask yourself why.  Maybe we can do something about that....