the turtle with his shell...

the turtle with his shell

We all carry excess baggage.
The longer we live,
the heavier that baggage becomes.
Soon we become ships at anchor,
staying in safe waters,
never to sail far from where we are comfortable,
nursing the few things that bring us
temporary escape and some form of happiness.
Restricting us from experiencing new adventures,
we deprive ourselves of any possible new found joy.
I understand but still find it terribly sad.

Friendships are like that.
We hold on to a few
and hope not to lose any of those.
Possible new friends are kept
under constant scrutiny
as the baggage of the past
throw up new barriers for future growth
and weigh us down with imaginary storms.
Eventually, if we are not careful,
we can no longer move forward,
even if we want to.

We become like the turtle with his shell,
slowly testing each new step forward,
and retreating back to safety
with each and every new possible threat.
In time we never leave our shell.