All I ever needed to know I learned from the MTA - part V

We all have stuff but we carry it differently.


No-one gets on the train in the morning empty handed. We all have some manner or carrying device: knapsack, purse, shoulder bag, brown bag, something. We need these things because we spend so much time outside of our homes that we need to take a bunch of stuff with us. We need our wallets, our books, our electronics, our medicines, et cetera. We ALL have these things and as a matter of fact, someone who doesn't have any bag of some sort, especially a woman, seems weird and our of place. The interesting things is that the bags are all different and as varied as the owners themselves. Everyone carries their stuff in a different way and that WAY is whatever is comfortable for them. Some people like to have it all on their bag, some like to sling it over their shoulders, and others still like to roll it around behind them. It's their stuff and how the carry it is as idiosyncratic as their personalities.


In life, we all have baggage. Past relationships and life events have moulded us into the people that we are but with that comes some issues that we carry around with us. There is a song line that says "I'm not looking for someone with no baggage. I just want someone with a set that matches mine!". The truth is that anyone who is mildly interesting has baggage. In fact, some of the people surrounding you have more baggage that you may expect. From time to time, we feel that our own baggage is more than what other people are carrying. It may lead us to wonder if other people are carrying any at all because they seem so happy and at ease. Most of the time, they're just carrying their stuff differently than you are. Some of us always have a smile in the face of great despair and other still always seem angry even when things go right. We deal with beings in our own particular way and that's what makes us individuals.


So, just like on the train when you see a bag that you like, you consider carrying YOUR stuff in a similar bag, maybe we should think about carrying our personal baggage like some people who we KNOW are carrying the world on their shoulders yet seem to have a positive disposition. Who knows: maybe that may make all the difference in your life.