Learning to travel light

The manner in which we travel bears lot of similarities with the way we wish to live our lives. Some of us are unable to travel light. So, we suffer and inconvenience others. Some others choose to pack less, and truly travel light. 

The pandemic set a lot of us thinking about travelling light, the rest of our lives. That included clearing our cupboards, giving away things and literally de-cluttering. I have done that too. But I have also been looking around and drawing inspiration from people who are able to “travel light” in a truly psychological sense. That to me is true evolution and my aspiration. 

As I look around, there are a few things that such people are able to do and therefore travel light and they truly inspire me: 

1. confront and resolve residual feelings of hurt, resentment, anger and replace it with forgiveness and kindness. That feels lighter. 

2. Revisit relationships and redefine the boundaries and the lists of expectations in these relationships that are adding to the weight. When some of these relationships are shed or the burden of expectations are dropped, it feels light. 

3. Revisit the need to control others at work or in one’s personal life and determine the rightness or wrongness of their actions and advice them on what they ought to do weighs heavily. Learning to trust, empower and have faith and let go certainly makes it lighter. 

4. The demands one places on oneself and others and the world about how we and and others and the world ought to be is quite heavy. Learning to be flexible and open is certainly lighter. 

5. Having desires to “take” from the world is certainly adding to the load. Having desires to “give” is making it lighter. Looking at people who travel light is hope inspiring. 

As you read this, I am sure several such light travelers come to your mind too. My travel wish is not so much about visiting places but more about looking at people who are travelling light and learning from them!