I have flown on an airplane a handful of times. My luggage has never been lost, but I always seem to have a little anxiety when it comes time for me to pick it up. I fear for some reason it won’t be there. I have heard horror stories of people losing their luggage, someone stealing it, or it being left at their point of departure, and the person was without their personal belongings for a couple of days and in some cases their whole trip! The only occurrence I have had with my luggage is discovering that the airline had gone through it for a “security check.” My neatly packed bag of folded clothes, shoes, and other items I deem as necessities to my life were all in disarray. I felt slightly violated…they didn’t have to leave MY belongings a mess; on second thought they didn’t have to go thru k my bag!
I have noticed, in all of the airports I have traveled to and from, the baggage claim area never seems to be as “secure” as the other areas of the airport. Although the area is under close video surveillance, you can just walk up to the carousel, pick up a bag, and nobody checks to make sure it’s yours. As a result, some passengers have had their luggage stolen or accidentally taken by another passenger. In the case of mistaken luggage identity, I can only imagine the burden that the person may feel because they accidentally took someone else’s luggage. They have to get it back to the airport, and then find out where their luggage is…what a mess! In the case of someone, a thief, purposely taking someone’s luggage, trying to make a come-up…I just don’t understand. How does the thief decide which bag they’re going to snag? Do they do it based on looks? Quality? Brand name? Whether the bag is short or tall? Slim or big? Or is it the color of the bag?
The same thoughts come to mind when I think about people who are wounded. Day after day, month after month, and year after year they carry around baggage they have accumulated over time from unhealthy relationships, unforgiveness, and giving their heart to a hurt person who only ends up hurting them. So many people make the mistake of thinking because a relationship ends, it commences the end of everything else the relationship brought to them; and that is not true! Any relationship, whether it be family, personal, professional, spiritual, or romantic carries a spirit with it. That spirit is with us in the form of memories, tokens, and feelings. Just as our physical body takes time to heal once it is wounded, the same must occur with our spirit and soul. As long as we are clinging to the memories, tokens, and feelings, the spirit of the relationship stays with us, becoming baggage that we carry from relationship to relationship, because we neglected to unload from the previous ones.
My longest and most influential relationship lasted a span of ten years. For a decade, I was in a committed relationship with one man, and during that time I lived my life as part his. I gained memories, tokens, and much more than that, the feelings associated with everything I experienced with him. When the relationship ended, even though I was no longer his “Mrs.” and our spiritual connection was no longer bonded, I was still attached to my life with him in the natural. The memories-pictures, text messages, and conversations; tokens-movie ticket stubs, cards, and gifts; and feelings-of every emotion imaginable, from being in love, to feeling love was lost, to sadness, anger, betrayal, hurt, and helplessness. In my mind I was ready to move on, but there were something(s) stopping me, and I didn’t know what they were.
Look for part 2 of Baggage Claim! next week!
My Solace Place 