Packing

Travel Puzzle July 4 2009


When I’m leaving home to travel,
I always wonder what I’ll pack.
My suitcase yawns upon the bed,
Waiting to receive its load –
It always gets too quickly full and heavy.
Then I wonder what I’ve packed to make it so,
And why I need to take so many things.
So I take things out, rethink, and pack again –
With the same results.
Those few things absolutely couldn’t weigh so much!
How can some people travel without luggage?
What if it gets too cold, and I feel freezing?
What if it’s decidedly too warm, and I can’t stand it?
What if I get a stomach ache, a cold, a bruise, a rash?
What if, what if, what if??
What if I just wore the same things for a week – would anybody notice?
Would it make a difference?
I don’t know the answers, but I ponder often on the question --
What do I really need?


Reflection

I'm in packing mode again. I ponder New York City -- it's too far ahead for a weather prediction -- warm, cold, raining, daytime, evening, going out, what will I need? I don't know. I pack black -- it's safe. Now I understand -- for the first time -- why you had so many scarves! They liven up black!

I also do not know the answer to the deeper question of what I really need -- undoubtedly much less than I think I do. I tend to ignore the value of inner resources and lean too heavily on "stuff."