Packing for Optimism

“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!