Look not mournfully into the past.  It comes not back again.  Wisely improve the present.  It is thine.  Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Ever thought about what’s in the luggage that makes the rounds at the baggage-claim area in the airport?  As you are waiting for your own bags to arrive, perhaps you think to yourself or say to a friend, “That monogrammed Louis Vuitton piece must surely contain valuables.  That hot pink Samsonite number with the stickers on it looks intriguing.  Wonder who owns that cardboard box held together with duct tape and string?  Or how about that sleek silver case with the sturdy lock?”

Allow us to ask what may seem like a strange or even silly question: If your psychological baggage was traveling on that same conveyor belt at the airport, what kind of shape would it be in?  How would it look?  Would it be scuffed up?  Tightly locked?  Nondescript?  How would you describe it?

We ask such a question because your answer reveals a bit about how you consider your past.  It provides a glimpse into your feelings about your personal history.  And those feelings are what we psychologists are getting at when we talk about your proverbial baggage.

History is what has happened in our lives.  Baggage is how we feel about it.  Your psychological perspective on your past determines, to a great extent, your personal health and vitality.

We know a couple who has a huge heart for hurting kids.  Ramona and Jeff have been foster parents for more than thirty struggling teenagers over the last dozen years.  They have stories that don’t quit.  Recently, Ramona told us about two women, Marian and Andi, who are now in their early twenties.  Both have been in counseling for childhood abuse, but the outcome for both could not be more divergent.

Marian repeatedly endured every-night assaults from a stepfather from the time she was eight years old until she ran away from home when she was fourteen.  Andi was used multiple times in her uncle’s sexual experimentation – all when he was supposedly “baby-sitting” her and her younger brother.  As a result, both of these young women have suffered low self-worth, have distrusted any male, and have felt “used and dirty,” unfit for anyone to love them for who they are.  Through extensive counseling, both came to the same realization: that they had to unpack their baggage in order to move ahead in their lives.

Marian chose to do so – even though the baggage was tightly locked in her suitcase and even a slight peek was horrifying.  Andi chose not to do so.  She was not ready to let go of any of the items in her suitcase.  Today, five years later, it’s easy to see the huge impact that simple choice has made for both of them.  Marian is now happily married to a loving man, has a beautiful baby (although she was told by several doctors that she could never conceive due to the massive internal damage from her early abuse), and is actively involved in her church and community, helping other young women who have suffered such abuse as well.  And Andi?  She has chosen to flit from relationship to relationship, running away when any problem needed to be addressed, rather than facing it head-on.  She has difficulty keeping a steady job, won’t look anyone in the eye, and spends her nights alone – painting angry portraits.