How heavy is your ball and chain? Let’s get rid of it right now!

I saw this video floating around recently and it really resonated with me. (Watch it, it’s only 84 seconds. Goes by so fast it feels like 71 seconds.) I love Gary’s passion, how not a shit is given about swearing, and how he lives and works with a sense of urgency. I see that a lot in New Yorkers, and that’s something I sometimes miss, living here in the Netherlands. (But don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to move back. I love it here and I love the Dutchies. Hell, I made 2 of them.)  I just occasionally miss hearing people say ‘fuck’ and giving me life lessons, whether I want to hear them or not, which is something New Yorkers do well and often.)

It got me thinking (as Gary always does) about how much shit people keep dragging around with them. I work every day with people who were told that they couldn’t speak English, who were victimised (and I use that term on purpose because that is really how I see it) by teachers who mocked them or laughed at them, colleagues who made fun of them, etc. People who keep dragging around that huge, dead, leaden ball and chain of shame, regret, and comparison.  And really, why bother? You’ll never measure up anyway. There will always be someone hotter, richer, smarter, kinder and skinnier than you anyway, oh and don’t forget that there will always be a supermodel someone gets tired of fucking. People who are so damn used to walking around with this huge weight attached to them that they have totally forgotten what it’s like to live without it.

I promise you, if you liberate yourself from these negative thoughts, and stop dragging them around with you, you will see how much lighter life can be. You’ll discover what you can do when you are not held back by anyone. Not even yourself.

Go.
Break those chains.
You’ll see just how light life can be.
And then you’ll run.
GO!

X buffi