I will lay aside unwanted baggage—
Baggage that weighs me down,
Limits my going out and
My coming back again;
Baggage that fills my mouth
With unwanted words—
Words that hurt,
Words that sting;
My mind with things
That bring my spirit down.

And in its place,
I will pack my sack with the sacred—
Songs that bring peace to the world around me,
Poems and stories and conversations
That paint pictures of beauty and truth
And paths through hard places.

And I will pack love—
Gallons and gallons and gallons of love!
Love big enough to fill a house,
But light enough to carry
From here to anywhere;
Big enough to anchor me
To people and places I cherish,
But light enough to let me fly
Beyond my comfort zones.

Let my sack be filled with laughter!
For what is more sacred than laughter?
What is more healing?
Laughter opens rusty gates, closed doors,
Rolls children and grown-ups on the floor!
Sacred is the bubbling joy of laughter!
And if there is laughter in my sack,
There must be tears!
For what is more sacred than tears?
What is more healing?
Tears open hearts and souls,
Carve rivers of compassion
Around this hurting globe.
Sacred is the salty rain of tears!

So… I shake the baggage from my sack—
Those habits learned but abdicated,
Those fears that cause my throat to close.
I am ready to begin again,
With this empty, expandable, diaphanous sack—
Wide open and waiting for whatever I toss in.
For poetry—written down or painted on leaves;
For songs—in my heart or dancing in rain;
For laughter and tears and infinite beauty!
I might climb in myself at times,
And rest among my chosen treasures.

Yes! For me and for everyone I meet on the road,
Let my sack overflow with the sacred!

(Glenda Breeden October 4, 2017)