By Becki Balok

Imagine meeting someone for the first time and getting to know your new friend without telling any stories from the past. No childhood tales. No parental foibles. No school miseries. No career panic. What would you talk about?

We all carry a lot of baggage. We even carry other people's stuff. We remember every nuance, every embarrassing hiccup, every trip over cement cracks. It is no wonder we are exhausted. We carry a heavy load.

Perhaps it is time to move on. Perhaps it is time to empty out the trunk of life and create a space to hold not our ups and downs but our hopes and dreams.

Moving on may sound simple, but if it was we wouldn't carry 'our story' as if it was our purpose. Our story -- where we have been -- is not our purpose. Our story has gotten us to this point, but this point is not far enough. It's time to move beyond our story -- what we had, what we lost, who was right, who was wrong.

Only by moving on can we create a world of peace, compassion, love. It's time to focus on what we really want.

Let's start, right here, right now, by letting 'our story' go:

Our story is made up of 'stuff' that clutters our closets, drawers, basement, garage. Throw it out, donate it, cut it up, bury it if you have to, but get rid of the 'stuff' that serves only to drag you down.

Make a decision to remove the 'stuff' in your line of sight that reminds your of your painful past. Gifts from friendships that didn't work. Rings from romances that went wrong. Photographs that remind you of someone you do not need to remember. Diaries with words no one could ever understand about a situation you cannot change.

Harboring this 'stuff' only convinces us that we must 'hold on'. But, if we continue to grasp this 'stuff' our hands won't be free to do the work we were sent to do. Give it all 'thanks and a blessing' -- and get rid of it.

Now that you are free of clutter, you've created a space to focus on what you want. Build your hopes and dreams as you would a house.

Start with a waterproof foundation, make sure whatever you choose to do harms no one and brings more good into your life and the lives of others.

Build walls to protect your hopes and dreams from the blustery wind of other people's opinions.

Top it off with a strong roof, for protection from the elements of disappointment, frustration, and worry.

Insulate your hopes and dreams with discipline -- do something, everyday to make them come true.

Open the windows every day to let new ideas come in and take action on them.

Fill the inside only with the best and highest of thoughts and keep your focus on what you want -- all the time.

The next time you meet someone new, talk about your hopes and dreams -- it's a sure sign you've moved on. Moving on…it's what life is all about.

© Becki Balok, 8/19/2000