Baggage vs. Experience

Just reading the title of the blog inspired me. In the blog, the author talks about baggage vs. experience in terms of singing and teaching. I love the things she has to say, but I wanted to take it further and explore what those terms mean in my life and how they affect how I live. If you are interested in what she had to say, you can read her blog here.
Once More With Feeling: Baggage versus Experience

Baggage
--burdens that trap us in the past.
--things that weigh us down and keep us from moving forward.
--heavy.
--keeps us focused on our own problems.
--things we can't let go of.
--bondage.
--makes us fear the future.
--makes us victims.
Here are two great definitions from the dictionary--"superfluous or intrusive things or circumstances", "outmoded theories or practices."

Do we have too many "things" in our lives that keep us from seeing and doing what we need to see and do right now? How often do we continue with the old methods of coping even though they clearly aren't working any more?


I keep thinking about the rule we used for international choir trips--you only pack as much as you can run through the airport with. When we are hauling too much baggage, we are too slow and miss opportunities for wonderful things because as the plane leaves for the adventure, we are still trying to get one of those stupid carts loaded up with all the bags full of stuff we thought we couldn't live without.


I keep thinking of Matthew 11:28-30. I know I've written about it before and I probably will again because it is such a powerful statement. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden..." That sounds like an invitation to people that are carrying too much baggage. And in this world, you don't have to look for baggage, it finds you. Baggage comes in many forms. Sometimes it's a natural disaster, like the recent earthquake in Haiti. Sometimes it is abuse--physical, emotional, or sexual. Sometimes we pick up baggage when someone offends us. And sometimes the offense occurs without any intent on their part. Sometimes baggage is a physical or mental illness. Sometimes the baggage is a list of "shoulds" that belong to someone else.

I teach in a school that as a whole is extremely privileged. But as you start to look at individual lives, you see the horrendous baggage that has been thrown at these kids. I have several students that qualify for accomodations under the Federal Disabilities Act. I have had students with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I heard that there is a family living in their car--in Minnesota in the winter!

Life is hard and we have no control over the baggage that is thrown at us. We do have some control over what we decide to pick up and carry with us long term. We also have some control over when we choose to set it down. Notice that I said "some control". It would be nice if it was as easy as just surrendering the baggage to God, but even that is not as easy as it sounds. The process of changing that baggage into something that helps us grow and move forward is time consuming and work intensive, but ultimately so much better. Unfortunately, I can't give you the formula since every person must process every piece of baggage in a way unique to that person and situation.


Experience
--what we have learned from the past.
--things that open the door to a better future.
--allows us to reach out and help others.
--things we own, but do not allow to control us.
--freedom.
--helps us trust the future.
--makes us survivors.

My favorite dictionary definitition of experience is "knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation of or participation in events."

When I think of experience, two scriptures come to mind. The first is Doctrine and Covenants Section 122 vs. 7: "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if the fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. "

That is some serious baggage being thrown at you, but the Lord is telling us that even with all of that, it is possible to learn and grow from it.

The other scripture is 2 Corinthians Chapter 4: 8-9, 17: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed...For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

I've always been just a little jealous of people with perfect faith. Yes, I do know people who really can look at things like Paul did. Logically, I know from past experience that I will survive whatever it is that life is throwing at me and that there is the potential to learn and grow from this experience, but it is a lot harder for me to find that peace--to let the event become experience instead of baggage.

I've been fascinated recently by what I've been reading about the brain and how it works. There are two things specifically related to this baggage and experience topic that have interested me. First, some brains naturally function in a way that promotes the faith and peace that Paul displayed, and other brains tend naturally toward fear and mistrust. The second thing that impressed me is how much we can change the way our brains and the brains around us function by making conscious choices. Yes, I've just simplified it incredibly, there's much more to it than that, but I love the idea that yes, the choices we make are affected by our biology, but our choices also affect our biology. We may be given baggage, but we have the power to change it into experience--to make it into something better.

I used to carry a lot of baggage. I've understood the experience principle and even used it well in some circumstances. For example, I have asthma, which is not great for a singer, but I have learned how to live with it and sing with it, and I have been able to share that knowledge with my students with asthma. Other kinds of baggage are harder to let go of or transform. There are still some things I need to let go of, but when I started thinking about baggage and experience last night, I was pleasantly surprised to realize how much of the baggage I have been able to get rid of.

I am who I am. My past is my past and cannot be changed. I can own my past including all the baggage whether that baggage is of my own making or thrust upon me, but owning it doesn't mean giving it control over my life now. It means acknowledging it and finding a way to make my life better, not in spite of the bad things, but because of them, by embracing them and learning from them.

One last random thought for today. God doesn't want us to have baggage. That mountain of stuff stands between us, keeping us from feeling His love and keeping us from growing. Experience is what He wants for us. Experience is what brings us closer to our divine potential.