Life in a Suitcase

I just got back from a 23 day long trip. While I was gone I forgot which light switch went to what light. They say it takes 21 days to create a new habit, but I think I also broke some habits while I was away. Being away offers you perspective away from your normal surroundings. Just you and the bare essentials often times makes you realize how little of our possessions actually have to do with who we are.

I'm preparing for a longer trip, and as I prepare, I recognize the things that were wasteful weight in my luggage. Books I did not read. Projects I did not finish. What was used in my suitcase was my thought out wardrobe. Only one piece came home unworn. For the 2 climates I was in, everything worked for 23 days, without a laundry crisis.

As I look around my small apartment, I see it through different eyes. Unaccustomed eyes see what I don't touch, and would forget about if I did not see. Projects that lie around unfinished. Books I will never read, and a few odds and ends. What is my life really? The question isn't, "if I had time, the question is: with what time I have, what will I do?" There was so much I didn't miss. As a streamlined person, I still accumulate. Just look at the pile the USPS left for me to open. Most of it goes in the garbage, some of it the shredder, and a fraction goes into my action files.

Of all the books I've read, how many of them will I never read again? Of all the magazines I haven't read, will I read them? Of the paper that makes it into files, will it ever be seen again? 20% of paper in files will be seen again, but only 20%. What is happening in my life right now? What am I working on? Do I have so many open projects that I am overwhelmed, or putting some on the back burner? Can I drop some? What if I gave myself permission to let go of them?

In my closet, I have more clothes than is sufficient for 23 days. I just proved it. I survived 23 days on 4 pairs of shoes. I took only 3 hair items: a clip, a clasp, and an elastic. I'll admit to only taking one set of PJs. 9 tops. 5 bottoms. 1 skirt. 1 sweater. 1 jacket. Luggage wise I ended up with 1 check on under 50 lbs. and one carry on brief case. For a female that is pretty decent. For everyday, my suitcase reminds me I can do better. I not only survived, I thrived.

I used to joke that I wanted to have my life's possessions fit in a suitcase, kind of like people in the olden days had trunks with their life's goods. Well in truth, a suitcase comes pretty close. What means the most to me is to have life be so focused to only have one thing at a time to do, and not 50. Right now my life consists of a lot, some days more than I can think about, but that suitcase is reminding me, to take what today holds, and let go of everything else. Tomorrow has enough worry of its own.

Personally I see how living out of a suitcase can change one's goals, wants and desires so quickly. The clutter of one's life falls into the background out of sight and out of mind, and what is true, stands out.