Packing Light

We arrived home from our Amelia Island excursion at two in the morning-an SUV filled with too many bags and suitcases, spices, Tupperware, shells, shoes, sunscreen and a plethora of other mixed sundries. Upon each return from whatever journey, I promise myself that NEXY TIME I will pack less-take stock of what I use and remember to leave the rest behind. Why is it that we accumulate so much ‘stuff’ and have it follow us around?

I have my ‘necessary’ stuff, my ‘just in-case’ stuff, my ‘you never know if you’re going to need it’ stuff and ‘wouldn’t it be nice if I have time for this’ stuff. Literal pounds of extra freight. Most people would see me as a minimalist, but when it comes to packing I am grasped by this fear of ‘not having enough’ stuff- and it follows me like Pig-Pen’s cloud of dust.

Emptying the truck takes a vast amount of energy after a 17-hour ride with a panting dog on my lap. Driving to your destination seems to render permission to pack as much ‘stuff’ as you’d like, when really all I needed was a bathing suit, sneakers, a book and a couple of pair of shorts. I must have packed 8 books and only had time to read two, I packed my five-pound dumbbells thinking I would come home with sculpted biceps or triceps or anything except my sagging arms. There were a couple of windy days in which the dumbbells helped to hold down the pages of the books I wasn’t reading.

‘Stuff’ carries an incredibly heavy load inside us as well - like overeating for your soul- psyche indigestion. There is certainly a freedom in letting go of ‘stuff’, of cleaning out those junk drawers of giving away things that no longer serve you, letting go- no longer holding onto or dragging around those extra pounds of unnecessary. Living with less has a way of untangling and sweeping away the inner clutter of our souls, leaving more room to breathe and hold onto the beauty of life. 

When I can’t sleep at night, I give my brain a job to do so it will hopefully refuse, shut down and give up for the night. Lately I’ve been asking it to repack the suitcase and the car with only the essentials-what would and wouldn’t I pack if I had the opportunity to go away again? How can I live with less and feel the joy and inner spaciousness of letting go? 

‘Things’ seem to have less value than they used to – I’m forever amazed at the ‘stuff’ on the side of the road with ‘free’ signs – an overabundance of ‘stuff’ that folks no longer want or need. Growing up, every little thing seemed to have so much value and meaning - I imagine it was because it felt as if we never really had enough ‘stuff’ – but now that most folks have accumulated more than enough, there is so much ‘stuff’ that you can’t even give it away.  

One day, when I have left the planet all of my ‘stuff’ will be left behind- it won’t follow me to my next destination- I’ll finally be free of ‘stuff’. I have this dream that all of the beautiful meadows and saltmarshes, fields and forests will one day be restored. The land that is now covered by strip-malls and chain stores surrounded by acres of parking lots, illuminated by miles of fluorescent lights where too much ‘stuff’ is being sold- will one day be removed, and the land will be restored to its original beauty. There will be a resurgence of ‘Main Street’ America where people know the shopkeepers and walk downtown smiling and only buying what they need. People will be sitting on their front porches waving at their friends and neighbors that pass by while Sunday dinner is baking in their conventional 32-inch oven and their kids play kickball in the backyard. Life will once again be simply beautiful. A new old world.

This will be my dream when we all come to know that too much ‘stuff’ has not only filled our car and our suitcases but also our planet, our oceans, our landfills and our souls.