Grand Trunk

I took a couple of photos on Christmas Day and I’ve decided they’ll serve as a nice theme for the New Year.

While on walking along Shore Road to my sister’s home, I spotted two old steamer trunks in front of an apartment building waiting to be carted off by the Sanitation Department.

Somebody was getting rid of their baggage.

Perhaps that’s twisting the metaphor a bit too far, but I don’t care. I just want to dump the junk I’ve been hauling around in my head for far too many years.

I’m not making any grand pronouncements for 2019 because we all know that most New Year’s resolutions hit the canvas in less time than it takes to make them.

I just want to check in with the progress—or lack of it—I’ve had in reaching my goals. There are writing projects, career objectives, and personal undertakings that I’ve let slip away from me.

I can do this any time of the year, of course, but New Year’s Day seems like a good jumping off point.

Now 2018 was a bit of challenge, as I was recuperating from my surgery, but I don’t want to harp on that for the rest of my life. It’s over and done, now let’s move on.

I got some good advice from Fred the Shrink a while back that I’m only now starting to appreciate. I was talking about trying hard to succeed and he flipped the script on me.

“You’ve tried hard,” he said, “now try easy.”

At first, I thought he was talking about slacking off or giving up entirely. But I see now he was referring to my attitude: I can chase my dreams with the same amount of energy as always, but I don’t have to get all worked up and psychotic in the process.

Baggage Claim

The frenzied approach hasn’t paid off for me anyway, so this might be a good time to give it the heave-ho.

I saw this principle at work last week during my boxing class. We had a low turnout due to the holiday, which meant the few, the proud, and the crazy got more attention from our instructor Abby.

In fact, instead of doing one circuit around the room, we got to do two of them—including a pair of one-on-one sessions with Abby and his mitts of doom.

In the first go-round I felt tight and awkward. I was putting out tons of effort, but I was disappointed with the results. I dreaded the next round because by the time I did a second run of the circuit I would be even more exhausted than I already was.

If only I stayed home in bed…


However, I was more at ease in the next round.

Abby complimented my technique and I relaxed, forgetting about fatigue and how I looked in front of my classmates—always a big issue with me--and just let my hands go. And it felt good.

I tried hard and then I tried easy.

I had a similar experience during my morning meditation. Lately, I haven’t been achieving the deep state of relaxation that I normally do and I wasn’t sure why.

And naturally the more I thought about this situation, the less relaxed I became.

But things were different this morning. I stopped thinking so damn much and decided that I would accept whatever happened—good, bad, or whatever. This is meditation, not The Hunger Games.

And by doing that, I was able to have the best meditation I’ve had in weeks. I was breathing deeply and relaxing every muscle in my body. It was epic.

So, I’m not going to swear on stack of bibles or cross my heart and hope to die that I’ll keep all my resolutions for 2019. I’m just going to pack up all my cares and woe and put them out on the corner for the garbageman to take.

I’ve tried hard and now I’m going to try easy.

Happy New Year.

Comments

Jay said…
Good grief ... nobody would just dump steamer trunks over here! They make good money on the secondhand market. You can see them marked up for sale at £50 GBP (and more in upmarket vintage shops).

Having said that, there's a lot to be said for getting rid of baggage, both physical baggage and emotional baggage. I'm not doing too badly on the emotional stuff, but the physical baggage is dragging me down. Actually, of course, there must be an emotional reason why I can't throw stuff out. Hmm. That's a real conundrum.
Bijoux said…
Try easy is definitely a new phrase to my ears. I like it! Wishing you a year of trying easy and watching it work, Rob! Happy 2019 to you, my friend.
Ron said…
Rob, I freaking LOVE Fred's response...

"“You’ve tried hard,” he said, “now try easy.”

OMG...how brilliant! And how right he is. It's all in how we "process" our dreams, goals, and desires.

And I also love how you took your boxing class experience and USED that advice to change your experience by just letting your hands go, thus, making it easier.

Reading about your meditation experience reminded me so much of the advice one of my meditation teachers taught me. She said, "Accept the mediation for what it is and don't try to force or manipulate it." And she was right.

"I’m just going to pack up all my cares and woe and put them out on the corner for the garbageman to take.

I’ve tried hard and now I’m going to try easy."

BRAVO, buddy! Happy New Year to you!

Cheers!
Rob K said…

Hey, Ron, Happy New Year!

Thanks for all your support for all these years! It's great having you in my corner. And I love your meditation teacher's comment about accepting the meditation--that is brilliant! Too often I try to make things happen when I meditate and I only end up frustrated.

Take care, buddy, and let's make 2019 our best year ever!
Rob K said…
@Hey, Bijoux!

Thank you so much! I wish you and yours all the best for 2019!

Take care!
Rob K said…
@Jay

Hey, Jay, Happy New Year!

Excellent point about the trunks. I think Americans are too quick to throw things out, whereas people in other countries get all kinds of uses out older items. I think it's our obsession with having the newest shiny object.

I'm so sorry that you're having physical challenges and I hope things turn around for you as soon as possible.
And there's always an emotional reason behind why we can't throw stuff away. Let's clean house together!

Take care!

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