Can I Check My Baggage Please?

The long-outdated term that sticks around like dog poop on your shoe cropped up in my life the other day.  "Baggage."  As in - I have too much baggage. 

I find the term "baggage" to be very offensive and I strongly feel that anyone who adheres to the concept of baggage is really quite lacking in maturity. 

"Baggage" defined:  1. Painful memories, mistrust and hurt carried around from past sexual or emotional rejection;  2. An excuse commonly used by Peter Pans (?) other immature men to avoid commitment yet maintain a sexual relationship.  (I used the Urban Dictionary definition because I find it as humorous as the subject itself).

A positive way to turn this around is to look at "baggage" as life experiences rather than something negative.  Everyone has had things come up in life that they have to struggle through.  I feel strongly that it's these events that make us stronger and they make us who we are.  When the extremely painful or difficult stuff pops up, the "baggage" is the inability to deal with it properly.  It's not what happened to you - it's how you handle it. 

The problem is - if you don't have this "baggage", then what kind of person are you really?  Either you're in denial of what you have to deal with, making you even more dangerous than a person who is willing to admit that they have baggage, or you haven't had much of a life to live.  In other words - you haven't been willing to take risks and put yourself out there; what kind of person are you really?  I'm not trying to say that everyone has to turn themselves into "damaged goods" in order to be interesting, but as my favorite Chinese quote says "smooth seas do not a sailor make." 

Much like Urban Dictionary - I do believe that declaring that someone has too much baggage is a fast cop out and a weak rejection.  Probably from someone who isn't capable of dealing with their issues in a positive manner. 

Do I have baggage?  Ohhhh yeah baby, I DO have baggage!  But it's all that stuff from the past that makes me appreciate each and everyday...I very much find joy in life on the up days and there is always light around the edges of the dark days.