A shared practice
Dropping the Suitcases of Regret & Worry
S
Created bySean Fargo
From Sean's stress-and-anxiety collection — recorded in his own voice.
In Sean Fargo’s own voice10 min
Read along — the full script
Welcome. I'm Sean Fargo. To reduce anxiety, start by finding a posture that feels relaxed and softening your shoulders, relaxing the muscles of your face and jaw. Allowing your belly to breathe full, deep breaths in and out.
Inviting a sense of ease in the body as you close your eyes or look downwards, resting your hands in an easy, effortless way. Now take a moment to soften and release any obvious areas of physical tension. Aware of your body and your body breathing, your belly rising and falling with each breath.
And now imagine standing in the street outside your home with two heavy suitcases. Know that one of those suitcases is full of worries about the future, and the other suitcase is full of regrets about the past. Take a moment standing there in the street, holding these two heavy suitcases, one in each hand.
Reflecting about the suitcase with the worries of the future and how the future will come on its own accord whenever it happens. And that most of what we worry about probably won't even happen. And standing out there in the street, reflect about the past in the other heavy suitcase.
And consider how the past can never be changed. All we can do in the present is to learn from it, to put in whatever corrections make sense, to become more skillful and perhaps a better person, and to move on. And so standing there in the street, feeling the weight of these two suitcases in your hands and absorbing the wisdom of your own reflections right now.
And now make a conscious decision. Do you want to drop the suitcase of worry about the future? If so, simply drop it. Simply drop it. And now, standing there in the street with the other suitcase, so heavy about the past, make a conscious decision.
Do you want to drop that suitcase? If so, just drop it. Just drop it. And as soon as you've dropped those two suitcases, walk into your home, take a seat right where you are now, and plop down so relaxed, like someone coming home from a long trip, dropping suitcases and just relaxing, rested in the present moment right now.
Just breathing in and out. Resting in the natural well-being of your relaxed body. Resting in the fundamental well-being of awareness itself. Awareness which does not worry or regret. Resting as if this is meaningful for you right now.
Allow yourself to simply rest, feeling a sense of peace, joy, and well-being. The natural happiness, always your true home. Without carrying heavy suitcases of worries about the future or regrets about the past. Simply resting here in your body right now with total relaxation throughout your body and mind.
More from Sean Fargo
Make one of your own
This practice was written and narrated with Mindfulness Exercises Pro. Yours takes a few minutes to make.
$0 today · cancel anytime · your work stays yours
Or describe one in the composer — the trial composes it
Just here to listen? You can ask for a practice made for what you’re carrying — a hard week, a racing mind, a night you can’t sleep — and hear it back.
Tell us what you need →Free · no account