How much does your life weigh?

I love George Clooney.  His voice alone was reason enough for me to watch his recent flick, Up in the Air, twice in one month.  For those of you who have not seen it {shame on you–go rent it!}, I’ll give you a little snippet without spoiling the storyline: 

Ryan Bingham (Clooney) is a man who makes his living traveling to workplaces around the United States and conducting layoffs for bosses too cowardly to do it themselves. Ryan also delivers motivational speeches, using the analogy “What’s In Your Backpack?” to extol the virtues of a life free of relationships with people and things.  He proudly relishes in the comfort of anonymity during his perpetual travels, but this comfort turns to intense loneliness as the story progresses. 

Aside from Clooney’s sultry tone, and a sooo-not-what-you-were-thinking-it-would-be storyline, Ryan’s backpack analogy is what had me coming back for seconds:

“Imagine for a second that you’re carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life.  You start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks … then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV… the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home… I want you to stuff it all into that backpack.  Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office… and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack … feel the weight of that bag.”
~ George Clooney as Ryan Bingham in “Up in the Air”

My feelings sway on this theory by the hour day.  But, for the most part, I think its a profound way to live your life. 

In the film, Ryan suggests that scrapbooks are for those who can’t remember.  This I don’t agree with.  I am a picture hoarder.  I have frames all throughout my house.  Even in my bathroom.  I love changing pictures out with new ones all of the time.  And, even though my backpack is heavy {like yours, I am sure!}, I don’t feel like I am alone in carrying it.  I am surrounded a village of people who treat my family as their own, and help me carry my backpack on a daily basis. 

 But then there are those relationships that come with more baggage than you could even imagine.  You know the ones–don’t make me list them.  These are the relationships that drag you down, that aren’t reciprocal, that waste valuable time and energy that can be spent on people who deserve it.  

I’d like to find a happy balance, though, because I do think the message in that quote is quite profound.  These days, we are surrounded by ways to connect with people in seconds–”friends” on Facebook, a simply “bring home milk” text, or the click of an email.  I sometimes feel that these advances in technology that are supposed to make  it easier to stay connected have seemed to truly disconnect us. 

I’d like to give some thought to this quote, and balance, in the coming weeks, and I’d like to apply the theory to my life as a wife, mom, blogger, and everything in between.  

In typical mom fashion, I’m going to break it down in kid-friendly bites. Think of all of the “stuff” in your backpack–the knickknacks, the books, the collectibles–the “stuff.”  If your bag was about to get set on fire, what 5 things would you remove from it?