A Bit Stooped Over

This did not come out as the profound statement I'd hoped it was going to be, but just a thought for what it's worth:
As a police officer, when I work I carry a lot of weight around.  All told, the equipment I carry to keep me safe and protect others weighs in at 20 pounds or so.  Recently, I've noticed that it's starting to have an effect on me.  I have to purposefully check my posture when I'm on my feet for any length of time.  If I don't, I find that I start to hunch a bit and catch myself not walking erect, not looking up and around me, but looking downward and not really paying attention to my surroundings.  That's dangerous thing to do, not to mention the effect that the bad posture might have on my spine.  (No wise cracks about being an old man are necessary here.) It's a daily discipline to keep myself straight and looking around.

That got me thinking about all the things we carry around with us in life that tend to keep us looking down and not paying attention.  We take care not to let the bad things in our lives have adverse effects on us; but it's not just the bad things that weigh us down--we have lots of good things that do also.  We have families, jobs, hobbies, friends...all great things, but they all add weight to our lives and can surely weigh us down.  They can wreck our focus and keep us from looking around.  It takes a purposeful effort to keep ourselves straight and upright.
In recent years I've tried to trim down and redistribute the load of work gear I carry.  Maybe not a bad thought in the rest of life too.  What do you think?