Two weeks ago, I went on a week-long trip to Guam for our dad’s birthday. It’s the first long trip I’ve had since Europe in 2011, and packing for a trip that long is a little bit of a challenge. But since I had nothing to do that weekend (aside from the fact that there was a typhoon), and in an effort to get more organized with my packing and reduce pre-trip stress, I made a list early Saturday morning of all the things that I need to bring for my trip.
It worked, sort of. I was able to finish packing most of my things that night, and then I had little stuff to worry about by Sunday. But for some reason, my bag seemed to be a little heavier than I expected. Perhaps I over packed? But I didn’t think about it much, because hey, what if I need to wear a dress sometime that week? I was planning to go for a run everyday while I was in Guam, so I need to bring work out clothes. And then, since I was bringing a dress, I would need shoes, right? Oh, and I can’t always wear flats, so I need sneakers, too.
My luggage was well below the allowance, so I figured it’s all good. Maybe it’s just my bag that’s making things a little heavier. Either way, I was ready to go. And I didn’t even stress over any of my stuff.
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I was writing my review of Allison Vesterfelt’s Packing Light: Thoughts on Living a Life with Less Baggage the other day on my book blog when I had a little epiphany of sorts. Her book was all about baggage, and what it does to us, and why we need to let go. Why packing light is a good thing because it makes the journey just a little easier. Not a lot, mind you, but a little. You don’t need too much stuff when you go on a trip, really. Just the essentials. It’s just that sometimes, we mistake the non-essentials for the essentials, because we can’t help but think: What if I need this? I’m pretty sure I’d wear this at some point. I really need three shoes for this. Or, how we always need to have extras for emergencies, even if that emergency is always so far off. We just want to have options, really, so it would be easier to make a decision because we have a lot to choose from. There’s something safe about having options, right?
But what if being safe hinders you from enjoying your journey?
Options make decisions really hard and really messy.
– Packing Light by Allison Vesterfelt, p. 72
And then I thought of those little lessons I’ve been learning in the past months, especially after I got back from Singapore. I wondered if that thing about packing light also applies to that, too.
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