Bag of shoulds

Look what I came upon this morning. I drew it a few years ago while thinking about my mom. She somehow has a way of making fun of all the "shoulds" in life. I remember giggling at how ridiculous they sounded when she put it that way. I drew this thinking how overwhelmed I felt at times, by all those shoulds. They are too heavy. Too much. I actually think it was about the time I started this blog that I drew it. Funny huh? That bag gets fuller and fuller until you just can not carry it any more. We are somehow all very burdened by what we should do, be doing. How we should spend our time. Who we should please. But who says? What happens when you set down that bag of shoulds? What if you don't even apologize for it? What if you allow yourself to feel what you are feeling right now? DO what is calling to you. What if you don't actually feel that bad for saying no, and meaning it. If you just say yes to something because it makes you happy. That does not mean you are letting go of responsibility. Because it does make me happy to do what is right. What is best. It just means you are no longer doing things because that is what someone else expects. Because you "should." No one knows you better than you. You should be empowered to do what your intuition is telling you. What if you no longer felt the need to explain yourself? You shouldn't have to. Yep, there are a million things on my to do list. Yes, I do want to be the very best wife. The very best friend. The very best mother. And I will be if I let go of all those shoulds and just be. Embrace myself. And then, pass it along to the ones I love. I am thinking that is what I SHOULD do. Don't you?