Are you ready to let go of all that stuff you're holding onto in your rucksack (backpack)

As I was walking through life the other day I came across a person with a rucksack, tatty, torn, with things just sticking out the top. So I stopped and I asked if it was OK to chat for a while.

Hello there…that looks heavy. Why do you carry such a heavy rucksack?

As I spoke to them, I could see the tired weary look in their eyes, in their posture, deep into their soul. They said “I’ve been carrying this around most of my life they tell me and I’m not quite sure how to put it down.”

“Well if you allow me, I’d love to sit and chat, even if it’s just to rest the rucksack on the floor as we talk, maybe even not talking but just to relax with you. So if you don’t mind me asking, what’s in the rucksack?”

“It’s a bit like my security blanket really. It carries around all my fears, worries and anxieties. I’m not confident person, I may appear to be on the outside but inside is a world of what ifs, I can’t, you’re not good enough.”

“Would you show me, talk to me about some of those things you’ve been carrying around?” So we started to explore the bag. “These are all the things I tried before, none of them seem to help.”

We then delve a little deeper into the bag pulling out reams of comments. Things like ‘you’re not good enough, you’ll never be good enough’. I asked where they collected these thoughts from - “just along the way”.

Then they turned to me, smiled and said “my rucksack is now empty, as I look at the bits of tatty paper, holding my worries and fears. I realise that they’re not me” and you know what, they placed all that excess negativity and fear in the bin.

It’s feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I was worried to talk about these feelings out loud but now I have, I’m ready for the first day of the rest of my life.

As a watched them get up, neatly folding the rucksack together and placing it to in the bin, I knew they were ready to continue on the incredible journey with them in control.

It’s my choice each and every time I meet a new client or even a stranger, to listen, listen without judgement, listening not only with my heart but with my soul.

My choice is always to believe in you.