So How Do You Travel?

In the early nineties I attended my first international calligraphy conference in Belgium. I was way over my head and severely overpacked. I took a plane, bus, train and car to get to my destination, all the while dragging along way too many art supplies and WAY too much luggage. I don’t know what I was thinking.

I have since learned that unless I am driving I travel light. I pack a backup and have learned how to make do with what is in my bag. I have also learned to leave my “real” word behind and dissolve myself into the place and activities I am traveling to enjoy. Traveling in itself is an adventure, let alone what happens once you arrive at your destination. Sometimes the best stories from the trip are getting there and back, the rest can sometimes be just day to day business. If we are burdened with too much we often miss the adventures.

I think this applies to life, not just travel. I have been to Goodwill once a week for the past ten months, donating and clearing out the items we have decided need to belong to someone else. There is a peace and serenity that comes with opening a closet that is not jam packed with stuff that never moves. Traveling light allows us to focus on the important not the junk. Traveling light means letting go and allowing space for new things, ideas and options to present themselves. If everything we have prevents us from being able to move then how can we have any more adventures, ideas, or move forward? Getting bogged down in items or fears prevents us from being able to do most anything, so eventually we give up and settle for what we have.

Traveling light means we must evaluate what is truly important to us and leave the rest behind. It means appreciating the past then being willing to give it away for someone else to make it part of their world. And it means being willing to improvise and figure out when the plan doesn’t go exactly to plan. There is yet to be a hotel or airplane that doesn’t have what is needed, so be open to asking for help and leave the rest behind. Travel light, enjoy the ride and allow yourself the freedom to live and love freely instead of being bogged down. If you give up control you may actually have the time of your life or have more time IN your life.