Photo: Jakkapan
Some people see life as a journey. I like that metaphor because I feel the possibilities in it, don't you? You know where you come from and you can decide where you want to go, but ANYTHING can happen once you start going. And then all you can do is choose how you want to take it, really. You might have boarded a train for Stockholm, but then you find out that you've arrived in Warsaw. You just have to decide whether you want to get off, stay on the train to see where it's going after or start complaining to the railway company.
A lot of people choose the latter option but I don't really like that one because you rarely get a refund and it just means that you've wasted your time going all the way to Warsaw for no reason. Might as well get out or see where the train will take you next
One thing you'll notice on life's journey is that some people just bring a backpack and others choose to bring several suitcases. Nothing wrong with the backpack approach and I'd say nothing wrong with the suitcase approach. Depends on who you are, doesn't it? But then some people have got an awful lot of suitcases and other luggage with them. They might have got SO much luggage that they can't even remember what's in it! Seriously. They packed their baggage years ago and they'd be stumped to say what's in it. Yet they keep lugging it around out of sheer habit. Or they stand still because they can no longer carry all their stuff!
My point in all this is that these people MIGHT NOT NEED all this luggage anymore. They could perhaps benefit from looking all the way to the bottom of their suitcases and select the useful items. Then they could get rid of all the rest. They would be so much lighter and the journey might be easier without unneeded baggage to carry.
So have YOU looked into the bottom layers of your suitcase recently? Have you found that you're carrying an awful lot of unnecessary items as baggage? Do you think it's time to at least open the lid to have look? There's not much point in bringing your skis if your going to the Bahamas! Carrying too much heavy luggage makes travel harder. You might have to book and pay for extra space on planes and trains but who cares, if you are careful to plan ahead? And if you've got nothing else to spend your money on.
However, once you've tried traveling without extra suitcases you'll find out that it's so much more fun! Carrying only the luggage you need, you can easily change plans without notice, You can act on the spur of the moment. This is difficult if you feel weighed down by so much baggage that you can't even carry it yourself. So much stuff that you have to ask others to help you carry it off the platform to the taxi or go several times yourself. Asking for help is OK but if it gets to be a way of life, maybe you should consider taking measures to change this?
If you feel like it's time that you had a look at what you're carrying around, why don't you just leave a comment or send me an email? Together we can pry your suitcase open and have a peep in it together. It can be very difficult to get rid of the extra luggage and more often than not, the extra bits, the ones we don't need, were forced on us! We didn't necessarily choose these items but leaving them behind could cause hurt. Or at least that's what we think. But isn't it time to find out? Or are you worrying about how to separate what you need from what you don't? One thing's certain, worrying about it won't help. Action's what's called for. Just do it.
Can't wait to hear your comments and takes on Life as a Journey. Where are YOU traveling to? Did you take everything you need? Have you got too much stuff? Tell me because I'd like to know!