02/09/2025
I’ve had one of those days today where the weight of my invisible backpack felt especially heavy. What’s an invisible backpack? It’s our anxieties, our worries, our self doubt, our inner critic, our worse voices about ourselves - it’s the things that weight us down.
For me today - It wasn’t one big thing — more like a quiet build-up of little worries, doubts, and ‘what ifs’ that crept in and settled there. And even though no one else saw it, I feel that weight with every step.
I think that’s the tricky thing about our invisible backpacks. From the outside, people might see us smiling, working, showing up for our families, ticking off the to-do list. But on the inside, we’re carrying all these unseen loads - we feel exhausted by what’s loaded on our backs. And it can feel lonely, like you’re the only one weighed down, and that you couldn’t possibly ask anyone to help you carry it.
But here’s what I keep coming back to sharing doesn’t mean giving them our bag - it is more a change to hear the golden phrase -SAME! We don’t share these feelings to get affirmation — we share them to seek validation. To remind ourselves that we’re not alone. That all of us, in different ways, are carrying something. And that naming it, even gently, helps make it feel a little lighter.
Our invisible backpacks hold not only our worries but also our resilience, our hope, our tiny sparks of joy that sit alongside the heavier things. And when we allow ourselves to speak about what’s inside — we create space for connection. We remember that others have backpacks too.
So if yours feels heavy today, know this: you don’t have to carry it all by yourself. Sharing the weight doesn’t erase it, but it softens the edges. And sometimes, just knowing we’re in this together is enough to help us keep going. 💛
