Make the best of where you are
Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 10:50PM How many times have you gone somewhere and had baggage lost or learned what life is like when items disappear? Many people can relate to this. The initial reaction is often frustration, disbelief or anger. Yet, wait a second. Does it matter?
This topic is relevant because I recently embarked on my honeymoon and my bag did not initially arrive with me. I was moving around a lot and discovered that to travel light is to be unburdened. The next time you travel and feel an urge to get upset when things do not go the way you think they should go, remind yourself why you are better off.
Imagine what it would be like to be a bedoin or someone who travels regularly with all they own. This is not a suitcase or a caravan. Rather, it is often what can be carried on your back. What if you wore the same shoes every day, the same clothes. This would not change who you are. In fact, it may remind you that your identity has nothing to do with what you have or what you wear. Instead, it relates to how you feel inside.
Happiness is a state of being. Travel is a teacher. It brings to your attention what is necessary and extraneous in your life. How often have you made a mountain out of a mowhill? Each moment offers an opportunity to shift your thinking. What is really important? It isn't where you are, it is how you feel about yourself , what you are doing and who you are with. You could always be doing something else, but you are not. You are meant to have the experiences of this moment.
Reader Comments (12)
so true, and we shouldn't complain about where we are, and what we are going through, 1. there's a lesson to be learnt, and 2. you make your own choices, and you are where you are because of the choices you made in the past.
When I left school I went to Taiwan with a group of people, we would have worked there for 2 years, but that didnt happen, anyway, when we got there our luggage didn't arrive, and for 3 days we had no clothes or anything, thats was really terrible, but looking back it was a fun experience.
Having recently come back from vacation, I can totally relate. No my bags did not get lost...but there were a few adventures along the way the provided great opportunity for growth and the expression of simply "being".
I can relate. About 20 years ago, my car was stolen and some items that I loved got taken along with it. The worse of it is that I had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and stand in line to get a new driver's license. That was the biggest headache, but I still have the memory.
Happy Honeymoon.
At the airport last weekend, I was shocked and I admit a little repulsed by how much "stuff" people carry with them when they travel.
Over the years, I have carried less and less, until one small case, around 24 inches by 20 inches, is all I need for my clothes and toothbrush etc.
The rest of my belongings are in a small shoulder bag, which I lighten whenever it makes my shoulder ache.
henry
I am reminded of Wayne Dyer and the way he explains how human beings progresively move through stages of "collecting and carrying." They begin with an "acquiring stage," where they seek grades, awards, anything that brings external approval. Next, they collect friends, pets, jobs, experiences and physical objects. Later, human beings move to the stage of collecting things that require more space, like houses, cars boats or items not easily moved. Still later in life, human beings arrive at the stage where they perceive their collections as burdens that are better ignored (like difficult emotions or memories), sold off (like property), bequeathed (like a legacy) or, given away. Humans are born with nothing and leave this life with nothing. All experiences will bring you full circle.
I used to think I was going around in circles..then I realised that (like the universe) I was in the spiral of life.
The spiral either rises or falls, as we return to each morning, night, year and life.
We can either rise like an eagle on a thermal current, or descend like a world-war-one biplane spiralling to destruction. (Sometimes, I live dangerously)
henry