“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27
After consulting friends and Google
search on “how to pack for a semester in Italy,” a slew of advice followed: “Take
clothes that are easy to layer so you can mix and match.” “Yoga isn’t really
big in Italy and mats take up too much luggage space.” “Take some pepper spray!
Haven’t you seen Taken?!” “Don’t
carry more than $500 cash because they have pick pockets!” “Also make a
fake wallet to outsmart the pick pockets!” Rather than making me feel
more secure, the advice made me even more anxious. I know it
might sound crazy, but I truly believe that the universe will give you what you
expect. Sure there will be curveballs along the way, but those are never bad
events—just experiential ways to learn a lesson. So if a pick-pocket (OMG) happens to steals my wallet on the tram, I
hope to control my crying and whining long enough to think about my dependence
on money and the illusion that any of God’s materials are mine alone.
If you ask any of my friends, they will tell you that I am not usually a person who is
ever over-prepared. In fact, I am very much against things such as
over-packing, having a Plan B, and purchasing insurance (be it car, health, or
life). If you do any of these things, please don’t mistake my writing for criticism.
In fact, it is usually over-prepared people who end up taking care of me.
I understand that some people think there is no harm in over-preparing, but
just on a personal level, I have found it to make me more pessimistic,
high-maintenance, and stressed. So after a combination of rolling underwear,
playing Tetris with suitcase space, and sitting on my luggage, I turned to
savasana.
While this posture relaxes the body, it does
so in order to relax the mind. Only then can we sit in stillness—attuning
ourselves to the divine. It is in this quiet space that we most readily hear
from God and receive our wisest thoughts. It teaches you to not only relax from
your actions, but to reflect upon
them. Who knew that this would apply to packing? Here was the inner dialogue
from my savasana:
God: Stephanie, why are you packing
so much?
Me: Because I don’t know what’s
going to happen so it’s always better
to be prepared.
God: You’re silly.
Me: Ugh I knowww.
After reflecting, I realized that my packing
technique was all wrong for the outlook I wanted to cultivate. So I have
decided, after unpacking ¼ of my over-packed suitcase, to swap out pessimistic
items for optimistic items.
Examples:
Fake wallet à stationary for the
amazing people I will meet
Pepper spray à bulky “are you
seriously taking that?” yoga mat
Credit cards à cash just to prove a
point
Black, white, and beige clothing à
sun dresses!
Pessimism, worry, undue stress à
Optimism, no worries, smiles J
If you or anyone else is in a dilemma as to
what to pack, I say: pack for optimism!
