At the Feet of the Divine - Laying our Burdens Down

We weren’t meant to carry such heavy burden alone;

visualize yourself laying down your burden and feel the lightness.

We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward.

There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down. Just imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness.

The human imagination is a powerful tool, and we can use it to take journeys to faraway places without ever leaving our home. Because of this, we too can lay our burdens down at the feet of a divine being such as the Great Mother Goddess, Buddha or a mountain. Releasing ourselves from that which we can’t handle on our own. No matter how smart we are, how capable we are, or how hard we work, no one can single-handedly cope with all the worries that we tend to take on in the course of our lives. And, we aren’t designed to do so. Our wellbeing depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves.

Visualizing yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of someone or something much bigger than you can be a powerful daily practice. To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.

[As an addendum to this Daily Om posting, I would add that such suggestion does not howeve mean we should then ignore those things which are burdening or worrying us.  We still need to address them, to make the necessary changes in our life (style or situation) in order to release (or even free) ourselves.  This is because regardless of whatever perspective of Divinity we may have, the Divine is here to assist us, not to "do the work" for us .... they help those who help themselves ... which is why they are always available to us should be call upon them for assistance and in particular guidance.  At the end of the day, it is still our own lives for which we are ultimately responsible for.]

Source: Daily Om