The things we carry....My dear friend said, "You'll know you're home when you hang up the thumb." I spent a couple days searching for it in boxes, crumpled newspaper, suitcases. Could I have possibly just thrown it out?? Of all the things you pack and unpack......and find a place for in your heart and homes....what is really important?
Honestly, a part of me was ready to push it all off a cliff. There's a scene in the movie "Up" (a good one, if you haven't seen it) where the ageing Carl Fredericksen, who is flying his beloved house filled with memories via balloon power to Paradise Falls - destination of his long-dreamed great adventure - realizes that he can't take everything with him. So he just starts hurling everything out the door into the abyss. It's really liberating - or at least was from my current perspective. You kind of realize that it's not the things, but the memories and experiences that we collect that carry us onward.
But then there are all of these THINGS that remind us of the memories....and somehow anchor us in space and time. So.....I started thinking about what really IS important when we transition from one place to the next?? I decided to imagine moving with only a 12"x 12" box, and figure that you could reaccumulate anything else that you might need for the next journey. What would warm my heart and provide me with a sense of home - and familiar -when I put my feet up in a next place?
When I bought this house two years ago, I spent about 6 weeks in Virginia buying furniture and household on Craigslist and at thrift stores, loaded a truck, and Walla! instant house / home. Whoa. Cool. Every time I visited, I realized that I had everything I needed.....and nothing more. I loved the simple comfort of my 'vacation home.' Oh sure, I was always cruising thrift stores to find a garlic press or wine glasses, or funky funstuff. But gone was the usual clutter of my life on every surface. And I realized that you can easily shift from one pair of glasses to another. And at some point....you could just acquire one new whimsy when you were ready to shed another. Some things of course....are not easy to discard - hence the 12" box. So here I am, striving to keep it simple, and cherish the treasures of my memories, my dreams......and the contents of the little box.
