We get lighter each time we repack~
It’s amazing how light you can get when you live with what you can carry in one load~
When We first came here
Patrick and I to Australia
then John
we packed a lot in our bags
two each and a carry on
there was clothing
cosmetics
chocolate
Trident gun
laptops and tablets and ipods
but also
notions:
the preconceived kind.
They weighed the most; and oddly, took up the most space.
We’ve left them behind in Albany-
I off-loaded an entire bag there
leaving bits of ‘they certainly won’t’ ‘surely they don’t’ and ‘how can I ever’ in the rubbish bins outside of the Vancouver Art Centre. Closed the lid on the large green bins myself; pulled them to the curb and watched as the truck lumbered down the road to dispose of them all….
I should’ve waited to see them unload that pile of rubbish into their trucks because strangely enough when we collected our baggage in the Denpasar airport on March 25 there they were again; tucked in amongst our bathers, hanging out in my cosmetic bag, I even caught glimpse of a few in Daniel’s backpack…..
Through customs, out to the curb, all the way to the queue of rides-young men holding signs,-one emblazoned in bold script ‘Patricia Baldwin and family’ they hung on as if belonging to us.
Just outside of the temple area, alongside the pool, in our house stay they were left; tossed to the curb and piled neatly next to the morning offering left for worship; swept away in the early morning light; swept street clean for a new day.
It was so much easier to travel through Bali, become a part of Bali, with this lighter luggage once again. It is a deliciously warm country, such a sun soaked atmosphere after all; there is no need for so much additional stuff….
You can imagine my shock and surprise when we got to Sydney, boarded the train straight for the Blue Mountains and found ourselves complaining of the weight of our bags…they seemed so tremendously more burdensome then they had when we departed Ubud….
Alas, unzipping, unloading and unpacking those bags into our closet for our stay had us forming a pile of paraphernalia we certainly thought we were done traveling with…..’What if they don’t….’ ‘I am scared if…..’ ‘Could they really….’ all recollected amidst our humidity drenched belongings~
Having noticed the bins at the curb for early morning pickup, John wasted no time collected these unwanted additions and packed those bins full of needless waste. We were once more traveling light; without these unnecessary notions. Ten blissful days lighter and freer and fully enjoying the sun sparked crisp air of fall in the low mountains of New South Wales; We were in Australia!
Yet no sooner there they were again, showing up in Albion Park, Brisbane, Melbourne, and, I am ashamed to say, Seattle.
Each time though, fewer and fewer of these notions show up in our baggage~
The notion of ‘here’, ‘now’, ‘must’, ‘should’ dissolved early on. It’s the notions of ‘them’, ‘us’, ‘me’ that have been taking more work in the leaving off and left unpacked. It can be so difficult to leave these bits our of the baggage. To go full-on with just the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter and move forward knowing that what is to come is just what’s meant to be; without our notions of what next must contain.
I like living from two suitcases for now….yet some day I hope to have a houseful of suitcases; having traveled near and far-full of treasures and trinkets of shared experiences, people I’ve met, hearts I’ve held and hopes I’ve kindled….empty completely though, of any notions of the preconceived or expectations-ed kind 🙂
We’ve returned to Australia, Perth now, Busselton and Margaret River next before moving onto (blessed yes!) New Zealand before back to Oz…..I am tired of the baggage. I am tired of the weight of carrying my own notions for what must, can, should and want.
I am ready to go full-in, come what may, empty bagged so that I can have room to fill up with what is there, waiting already, after all~
in love.
trish