Pick up something you are carrying right now — a bag, a phone, a cup — and set it down. Then look at your hand.
A monk arrived at an old teacher’s gate and said, with some pride, that he had come with nothing at all. The teacher said: then put it down. The monk said: but I am carrying nothing. The teacher said: then carry it out with you.
Having nothing had quietly become the thing he had. That is how it goes. You can put down what was weighing on you, and then start carrying the fact that you put it down.
What are you proud of having let go of?
Even having nothing can turn into something you hold.