I read this years ago and saved the story but not the source. Hope it hits you like it hit me.
Two monks walking for miles in silence through the woods came to a river. A beautiful young woman dressed in a long flowy dress stood on the bank trying to figure out how to get to the other side. One of the monks picked her up and carried her across, gently putting her on her feet at the other side. The monks walked on in silence. Hours later the second monk spoke, upset that his colleague had touched a woman, forbidden by their vows. The first monk said, “I carried a woman in distress across a river and left her there. You have been carrying her much longer.”
What are you still carrying with you that could have been left at the river bank?
