Looking back to moving forward

 You may think it's cliché to describe life as a journey, you hear it everywhere. But if you really sit to think of it, you realize it's the perfect analogy really. I've gone a little more in-depth on a previous article tilted "The runner' check it out if you haven't. 

First thing anyone sensible does on a trip is prepare for it. Travel arrangements, packing and etcetera. You pack what you need for this trip. We're normally told to start with the quintessential essentials (a little pointless wordplay). What is NEEDED, what are you necessitated or obliged to carry? See nowadays I notice that most people are conflicting the definition between a need and a want. A want has basically been described as a desire and you may desire what you need but do you need what you desire really? (bars my guy). You do not need coffee, you want it (best believe I will take shots at coffee drinkers every chance I get). 

Back to my elaborate analogy now. I was talking about taking only what you need. If you're going for a hike for example, you will want to pack lightly in order to walk more efficiently. Efficiently in that it will be more comfortable to walk with what you need, almost the bare minimum water and some snacks. Yes you may want to carry something like your laptop with your favorite playlist and a Bluetooth speaker, but these weigh more and you may be sacrificing your energy for more comfort. Before you choose to make a sacrifice you must assess it's worth, because there's nothing worse than a pointless sacrifice (studying for a test and STILL failing). 

I was thinking the other day and it occurred to me how much a retrospective perspective (I should drop an album) helps in assessing your psyche and personality. SO let's say you have already packed your bag and you have already started walking. This bag is heavy and in a way this is compromising your pace, energy and comfort. It may be time to consider unpacking. Look at whatever is in your bag, the things you carried, how much of it is actually helping you and serving its purpose? You may have learned some things when you were younger or in a less advanced state of mind. Things that you thought you would need to know in order to move forward in this 'journey' of ours. Habits you're so used to that now they are tied to your persona. You should sit down to think about them, ask yourself how many of them are helping you in real time get to what you need. 

I'm only now coming to realize how 'unpacking' is a huge part of growth. I've mentioned retrospect, looking back to try and understand what was going on and how it affected you. See I'm normally on the fence about clarity, I think we've overrated it in a way, repeatedly re-entering harmful situations for it's sake sometimes the lack of it in itself is a telltale sign we ignore. But when it comes to what I call "self-clarity' I feel there's no compromise. You always hear about how you cannot know anything if you do not first, know yourself. A huge part of self-discovery, I feel, is coming to terms with your past and accepting it. It may be scary looking at a hole you just crawled out of, but again who knows how many more holes you will have to crawl out of (LOL).