Recently I have been thinking about the idea of “throwing off every weight that hinders” considering what life would be like if I removed things that weighed me down.
There are more connotations to this concept than one might think. For example, one type of “weight” might be physical weight, in the form of poor health. If I am not as healthy as I should be, it becomes a burden on my family, and keeps me from doing all that I have in my heart to do. Being sick, being tired, or worse — living a life that is cut short — these are not blessings. They are a hindrance to me. I should remember this next time I want to eat something I know is bad for me. Food is meant to nourish, not hold me down.
Rather than keeping all my possessions, like a monument to “me” and “my worth”, the things that I own should help me, not own me.
If they exist to serve me, then I need to take a good hard look at whether they benefit. When I started questioning the things I owned, magical things started to happen. Did you know it is so much easier to keep a house clean with less items in it?
For example, it is very common to find a kitchen that has strange, unused plates and bowls stacked on the ones that one might use daily. When you go to find the utensil you really need, you dig through a lot of others you do not need. Why? If I feel that I am always working too hard to keep my home clean, maybe it is too crowded. Maybe the things I need are enough.
I can also be weighed down with debt. Stress and pressure, why not live within my means? The more I get out of debt, the more I feel a weight lifted. I think it can be a little like cleaning a dirty closet. Have you done that before? Somehow, you are aware that no filth and clutter lie behind those doors. The room feels better. You feel lighter. Having no debts hiding is similarly lightening.
Obligations are also a weight to the busy. I once heard a saying, that “good is the enemy of best,” if you fill your life too full, you will not have room for what matters to you. Sometimes saying “no” may be just what you need to say “yes” to the big things that matter most.
So look at what is in your hand, does it benefit you? Pick up and carry the tools that enable you to climb the next mountain. Drop all the useless weight that holds you back and burns up all your strength.