It is time to pack for a 3-week trip. I wonder how much is enough. There are formal work meetings, casual business gatherings, and vacation time. I need a bit of everything! I know there are no weight limits to and from, but on the flights in the middle there is. Should I plan for the worst? Do I expect perfect weather?
I recently read that a couple downsized so that they each had 100 items to their names. Could I do that, even for this trip? If I counted every item, I would be seriously close to breaking the rules. Can I imagine what it would be like to limit myself to this number globally?
The nature of the questions brings me back to a central question that I often leave unanswered. What are the essentials in my life?
I am not sure I know. If I had only 100 items, how many would be books? Would I go with a single CD or burn them all onto my mac? Would my mac make the list?
If I extend the question, the beginning starts with my heart and mind. What do I hold most true? What stays closest to my heart? I remember some wise advice; “Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.” (1 John 2.15) I know I do not always follow it.
I know a few things that would make my list. There would be a camera to capture what I have no words to describe. I would include a mac so I had a place to record my thoughts. I would also have a fountain pen, if only to remind me that there are things in life that only come through traditional ways.
As much as I know what would make my list, I do not know what would remain. I doubt that I will figure it out in a day. It is a question worth reminding myself of and considering. Finding the essentials points me to the precious.
