👀 Travelling light

#243 | Don’t pack your fears

Things get heavy sometimes. I often pack five tops too many, more books than I can realistically read, and a yoga mat I won't use often enough to warrant lugging its weight around.

What if I decide to go swimming one day? In freezing weather, I probably won’t. But just in case, in goes my swimwear.

Just in case, an extra towel. More footwear. Notebook and pen. Only to later also add guilt, regret and the internal scream of my lungs, back and limbs to the mix when I have to walk with my backpack on.

I’ll admit, when the novelties of a new place are competing for my attention, I really don’t need to carry very much at all. So accounting for all my what-ifs and just-in-cases doesn't exactly complement my itinerant days. But I’ve learnt.

Over time, carrying all my possessions on my back has forced me to shed superfluous weight. Still, an anxious hoarder hidden somewhere deep within me emerges every now and then; that’s exactly when OneBag.com’s principles to lighten my load are great reminders to eliminate the liabilities.

In the wise words of a writer no longer around, “He who must travel happily must travel light.”

Good advice for backpacking. Good advice for life.

R