... and, I'm back!
If you've been reading these for any amount of time, you'll probably have noticed the theme of travel. Travel is the balm for just about any woe I have and I love trying to think through why that is. I know I love the anonymity that comes with travel, and I love having to figure things out in a different language or culture. But another point struck me over the last two weeks: I love being forced to do with less.
I am adamantly carry-on only, to the point where I made sure to find a backpack designed to fit in overhead bins. (Osprey Porter 46, if you're curious...) There are a few reasons why but basically carry-on only prevents lost luggage due to connections and it also ensures I get in and out of airports more quickly.
But, carry-on only means really scaling back what I bring. It requires last minute packing based on destination forecasts. It requires limiting toiletries to only things I can't find elsewhere. It requires clothes that can be worn again and again without looking like it. But it's always a refreshing reminder of how little I need day-to-day, and that reminder needs to be carried with me when I return.
I am not exactly a hoarder but I do love clothes, perfume, and books. While just about everything I own is second hand, the question does become clear: how much of this do I really NEED? And when I travel for any amount of time, the answer is... well, not a lot. Remarkably little, actually. And that's an eye-opener.
I'm all for enjoying material things and actually believe that "things" can be way more than just objects because of the sentiment attached or just the pure physical beauty of them. But doing with less reminds me that I don't have to get caught up in the consumerism that dominates our cultural thinking. Wanting and needing are very different things and doing with less clarifies that. It helps me be more honest about what is really, truly necessary in my life and what is just a "would be nice." And - and maybe this is the most important part - doing with less reminds me that no matter what, I can always get by. It's strangely empowering and perhaps that's why I love it so much.
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