Pack Light
I didn't plan on writing this. It wouldn't wait.
Everyone collects something when they travel. Some people collect shot glasses, postcards, socks, magnets. I collect mugs. So when I’m sipping something warm and nourishing, I get to enjoy the memory of the trip too.
But, lately, as I prepare myself to move out of the United States, I’ve been asking myself: what do i do with all this…stuff?
My inner dialogue has been sounding like:
what’s important? what’s not important? should i ask someone to hold this? i’m not coming back, I don’t want to pretend like I’m coming back to get it. Will I even want it when I remember it exists? Should I take my bike? No, I can get a new bike. What about heirlooms? I want to have something to leave my kids. This is real wood, this furniture is too good to get rid of. Are you going to lug it around the world? I haven’t even figured out where home base will be. It’s best to pack light. All you need are the important documents and you can get digital copies of your physical photos. What about my diploma? I didn’t even know I had that. Who is going to care about where you went to school? I care. Pack light. Anything you need you can get again when you get there, a better version of it. Pack light. You see how they treat luggage. Your shit will get wrecked. Pack light. Okay but, what about the memories? You lived these things. The memories are within you and the lessons are within. Pack light. I don’t want to give my mugs away, they won’t be important to someone else. The mugs are not the memory. It’s a marker of the experience. The memory is yours wherever you go. They made you. Pack light.
Why have we attached so much importance to things? Why does it feel like I’m throwing something important away? Why do I equate things to people, to experiences?
…I’m also having a hard time cleaning my mom’s house. She passed years ago and I still haven’t been able to throw out her things. It feels like I’m losing her again, like I’m discarding her and everything she meant to me. But you’re not. She’s in you. She is you. Pack light.
*the doorbell just rang.
Spirit, Team I heard you. I receive, and thank you for the confirmation. Asé.
-M💋