Put Your Luggage Down

By nature, I am very anxiety-prone. I immediately assume the worst in any situation. Not a very good thing for mental health. One faces so many tense and anxious moments in life especially if you have an extended family. As my friend used to joke, “You will die much before anyone in your family. They all have the habit of dropping all their tensions on you and your sleep and health go for a toss. They continue with their lives and you keep worrying.”

“Nothing positive comes out of worrying” — something I have heard a million times. But somehow I just couldn’t let go of this habit of worrying leading to disastrous results for my health.

One day, I was having coffee in a cafe. As usual, the worry was written all over my face. A lady came up to me, a stranger, she said, “You don’t seem to be enjoying your coffee.” I gave her a blank look, surprised that she had approached me.

I told her I was tense about something and couldn’t relax. She asked me, “Do you believe in God?” “Of course, yes,” I answered. “Do you have faith in Him?” “Yes,” I said, a little irritated.

What she said then, shocked me. She said, “You are like a passenger who has boarded the train but refuses to keep the luggage down. You have got faith you say — you have boarded the train but you are not keeping your baggage of worries and tension down. You are still carrying it on your head. What is the point of getting on the train of faith if you can’t put the baggage down and relax? The train will reach its destination at a fixed time. You can’t change the timings.” 

That made so much sense. It’s just that I wanted things to get sorted out ASAP. Not really having faith that everything will work out on the time it’s destined to. I still get tensed but I keep reminding myself that I have to keep the luggage down. Sometimes strangers can give you life-altering advice.