Weekly Letter: Unburdening with Aparigraha

A year and a half ago, Levi and I took a trip to DC, Philly and NYC. We flew into DC, taking trains to the other cities before flying from NYC to Chicago. The trip was 10 days long and all we took for luggage was a rolling bag for each of us.

We often travel like this, as we prefer the ease and speediness of not checking a bag. If we pack just right, we will have a load or 2 of laundry at the mid-point of the trip and repeat outfits for the 2nd leg. In my mind, I don’t want to be lugging dirty laundry with me everywhere and often when traveling, I want to wear something similar for function each day. I don’t need my clothing to be as complicated as I can be at home-clothing for travel needs to function.

People always seem surprised at our minimalist approach to packing. Valets look around for the larger suitcase, people make inquiries as to who we are in the laundromats and our travel companions tease us about the lack of stuff. But to us, it’s about removing the excess by keeping 2 things in mind:

1.      They do laundry there too.

2.      We can pick up what we forgot or need at the drugstore.  

3.      (Bonus) Sometimes we learn/find something new this way!

By letting go of packing for every scenario and only packing for the most likely, we literally unburden our load. And more often, we find at the end of the trip, we still over pack by quite a bit.

Aparigraha invites us to remove this idea of possession and turn it into an unburdening. Letting go of things, ideas and expectations so we can move through the world easier. And at the end of the day, reflecting on the few things you were still over-packing and see where you can let them go along the way tomorrow.