Travel Light
Pack light.
Bring only what is necessary to wherever you may go.
Lay it all down. Spread it all out: tickets, passport, money, clothes; tops, bottoms, shoe wear, accessories.
Ask the questions: For how many days? What places to go? Do I really need to bring those stilettos? Or would comfy flats do? Do I really need those many tops to go with those many pairs of jeans?
One suitcase. Or a backpack perhaps.
How to know that what you packed is enough? Wear your backpack. Can you still move around without straining your back? Lift your suitcase. Can you sustain carrying it for the duration of your travel without the aid of a porter?
Pack light. In travel as in life. Such sound advice.
Family. Friends. Virtues.
Family in blood or not. What matters is whenever you're with them you feel safe. You can be who you want to be, who you are without fear of judgment or reprimand. They root you to what is essential. Yet they give you wings to soar high.
Friends. You don't need many. Just a few who heed your call in time of need. Who stands by you even when you are in your most unlovable state and patiently waits for you to get back up, to who you really are. Who take joy in your happiness. Who will be there no matter what, in whatever form. Their presence is irrevocable, undeniable, real, no matter how they might fade from the main picture every now and then.
Virtues.
Courage. Kindness. Faith. Hope. Love.
The mental and moral strength to venture despite difficulties and hardships. To be afraid and to be brave. To go after dreams and aspirations despite shaking hands and quivering voices.
To always put oneself in another person's shoes. To know that the pain and renunciation of another is a struggle one can never know and thus to be kind. to always be kind.
To believe in the Universe. In good things. To believe in goodness in the midst of cruelty. To rise above despair.
To break one's heart open, palms facing heaven. To give love. To whoever needs it.
In the light of Typhoon Hagupit / Ruby, a day after seeing all the clothes I had to wrap in plastic bags, I once again realized I needed to unpack, unload literally and metaphorically. I needed to remind myself again and again to remember what is important and leave what is not behind. Or perhaps give it to those who may deem it important.
So I did. Clothes, bags, accessories, shoes, books. What I have left is just one small closet of everyday clothes. Two bags. One for everyday at the office and my Northface backpack as my go-bag. Rubber shoes. Working shoes, Formal shoes, Casual shoes. Only one pair each. I'm still thinking of replacing my working high-heeled shoes with flat ones. The heels are added weight. Truth be told. No matter how attractive they may be. It simply doesn't work for me anymore as much as it did before. Here's the tricky part, as much as I want to have only what is necessary, particularly on shoes, my feet as I know them to be have a history of wearing down shoes really hard. My tread is heavy. So I may require more than just one pair of flats because as much as I want to I can't wear Crossfit Nanos all the time. Thanks to the internet, I don't even need to go to the malls, crowded as they are this time of the year. Besides even if it isn't holiday season, I have no patience to bear the traffic in the metropolis anymore. Thanks to online retail stores, such as good old Zalora, I might just get a pair of light-weight shoes, what I really need, hassle-free, with their wide variety of comfy flats.
But I digress.
Pack light. Travel light. Bring only what is necessary. Hold onto what is important. In travel as in life all you need are these fit into the suitcase or backpack of your heart:
Tickets to places-- your dreams, direction. Passport and (Enough) money-- practical ways and means to reach dreams. Clothes on your back, Shoes. Shoes that bring your feet only to family and friends and places of courage, kindness, faith, hope and love.
Travel light. Always.
I wish you all lightness in life this Christmas.
Peace.
Bring only what is necessary to wherever you may go.
Lay it all down. Spread it all out: tickets, passport, money, clothes; tops, bottoms, shoe wear, accessories.
Ask the questions: For how many days? What places to go? Do I really need to bring those stilettos? Or would comfy flats do? Do I really need those many tops to go with those many pairs of jeans?
One suitcase. Or a backpack perhaps.
How to know that what you packed is enough? Wear your backpack. Can you still move around without straining your back? Lift your suitcase. Can you sustain carrying it for the duration of your travel without the aid of a porter?
Pack light. In travel as in life. Such sound advice.
Family. Friends. Virtues.
Family in blood or not. What matters is whenever you're with them you feel safe. You can be who you want to be, who you are without fear of judgment or reprimand. They root you to what is essential. Yet they give you wings to soar high.
Friends. You don't need many. Just a few who heed your call in time of need. Who stands by you even when you are in your most unlovable state and patiently waits for you to get back up, to who you really are. Who take joy in your happiness. Who will be there no matter what, in whatever form. Their presence is irrevocable, undeniable, real, no matter how they might fade from the main picture every now and then.
Virtues.
Courage. Kindness. Faith. Hope. Love.
The mental and moral strength to venture despite difficulties and hardships. To be afraid and to be brave. To go after dreams and aspirations despite shaking hands and quivering voices.
To always put oneself in another person's shoes. To know that the pain and renunciation of another is a struggle one can never know and thus to be kind. to always be kind.
To believe in the Universe. In good things. To believe in goodness in the midst of cruelty. To rise above despair.
To break one's heart open, palms facing heaven. To give love. To whoever needs it.
In the light of Typhoon Hagupit / Ruby, a day after seeing all the clothes I had to wrap in plastic bags, I once again realized I needed to unpack, unload literally and metaphorically. I needed to remind myself again and again to remember what is important and leave what is not behind. Or perhaps give it to those who may deem it important.
So I did. Clothes, bags, accessories, shoes, books. What I have left is just one small closet of everyday clothes. Two bags. One for everyday at the office and my Northface backpack as my go-bag. Rubber shoes. Working shoes, Formal shoes, Casual shoes. Only one pair each. I'm still thinking of replacing my working high-heeled shoes with flat ones. The heels are added weight. Truth be told. No matter how attractive they may be. It simply doesn't work for me anymore as much as it did before. Here's the tricky part, as much as I want to have only what is necessary, particularly on shoes, my feet as I know them to be have a history of wearing down shoes really hard. My tread is heavy. So I may require more than just one pair of flats because as much as I want to I can't wear Crossfit Nanos all the time. Thanks to the internet, I don't even need to go to the malls, crowded as they are this time of the year. Besides even if it isn't holiday season, I have no patience to bear the traffic in the metropolis anymore. Thanks to online retail stores, such as good old Zalora, I might just get a pair of light-weight shoes, what I really need, hassle-free, with their wide variety of comfy flats.
But I digress.
Pack light. Travel light. Bring only what is necessary. Hold onto what is important. In travel as in life all you need are these fit into the suitcase or backpack of your heart:
Tickets to places-- your dreams, direction. Passport and (Enough) money-- practical ways and means to reach dreams. Clothes on your back, Shoes. Shoes that bring your feet only to family and friends and places of courage, kindness, faith, hope and love.
Travel light. Always.
I wish you all lightness in life this Christmas.
Peace.
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