Packing to move is a form of art. The goal is to arrive with nothing broken and nothing lost, and to bring only what is best and most necessary. It's crucial to discard all that is non-essential, and all that lacks appeal. Tastes change, and what was once delightful and thrilling can become displeasing or full of negative emotional charge. I don't want to carry any of that negativity forward as I move on in life. It's a fresh start opportunity.
What packs well together and how much can fit in a box? What is heavy and what is light? What is fragile and needs extra care and attention so as not to break? How shall I organize all of the physical stuff of my life? How do I keep it all organized, and what can I get rid of?
Every time I move, I have a fantasy of getting rid of it all and being utterly cleansed. But that’s not realistic. I know I would grieve the loss. It is not the stuff that burdens me; it’s my attachment to it. I think the message for me is in learning to live with my stuff in the purest state possible, to be honest about what is necessary and useful, what I choose for inspiration or aesthetic pleasure, what symbolically represents where I have come from and the distance I have traveled, and what is no longer important and can be given away.
It’s not unlike emotional baggage. I cannot abandon it all on the roadside and expect to be liberated. I must sort through it. I must carry with me what I cannot leave behind, and learn to integrate it in my ever changing inner space until I am ready to give it away. I must be aggressive about de-cluttering what I can, and have the courage to throw away what no longer serves. It is my responsibility to organize and release and save and protect. I have to find a way to live in peace with my stuff.
I will look at the stuff of my life today. I will honor something I love, and let go of something I no longer need.
