Put Down What You’ve Been Carrying (The Friday Ficks S6 E41)

Everywhere I looked, there were water bottles.

Big ones. Really big ones. Some appeared large enough to sustain a small expedition.

Sitting comfortably in a climate-controlled Manhattan church, I found myself wondering: When did everyone become so concerned about hydration? And does anyone really need a 40-ounce insulated vessel to survive a 60-minute church service?

There was no hiking, running, Pilates, CrossFit or hot yoga involved. And I used to only take a water bottle on training runs longer than 10 miles.

Yet there they were.

And it’s not just church, but airports, conferences, grocery stores, train stations, Zoom calls and restaurants. Everywhere.

Maybe they’ve become the adult version of the security blanket carried by toddlers. Except now the blanket has a handle, a straw and motivational words printed on the side.

But there may be a deeper lesson here.

One of Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths teaches that dukkha - often translated as suffering or dissatisfaction - is part of the human condition. Another identifies craving and attachment as sources of that suffering.

Maybe the issue isn’t what you have. Maybe it’s what you’ve convinced yourself you need.

Convenience, Certainty, Comfort, Control.

Sometimes you become so accustomed to having something within reach that you forget you can live without it.

So try putting something down. Not because it’s bad or because you don’t enjoy it. But because discovering that you can live comfortably without something you thought you needed can be liberating.

The water bottle isn’t the problem. The attachment might be.

Sometimes freedom begins by putting down what you’ve been carrying. Even if it’s only a water bottle.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl