Gathering the Pieces, by Phoebe Fox

 

 

What do we need to take along with us on this journey?  That is always the crucial question any time you are getting ready to take a trip, isn't it?  What should I pack?  What will I need while I am traveling?  What do I think cannot wait until I get back and what do I feel I cannot do without?  To put it more simply, what do I refuse to leave behind? 

 

Most people overpack even when they will only be traveling for a weekend or an overnight jaunt.  Have you ever packed what you thought you needed, only to unpack at the end of a trip to find clothes you didn't wear and items you never got around to using?  Did you ask yourself why you were so determined to lug all of that extra stuff around with you?  Didn't your arms get tired, as your suitcase grew so heavy you might as well have been an  anvil salesman for all the weight you were carrying?  It is no wonder that psychologists refer to the unresolved emotional issues we carry around with us as "baggage." 

 

The truth is, there is a big difference between 'need' and 'want', and human beings often confuse the two.  Animals never do.  Animals instinctively know the difference between what they need (something upon which survival depends) and what they might want (something they would like to have but is not worth risking their survival in order to get).

 

This week and next week, we are preparing ourselves for the journey that begins on May 1st.  We will need to pack very little for this adventure, partly because the journey does not require us to leave home or step beyond our everyday lives.  So what do we need to take with us? 

 

In the film 'You've Got Mail ', Meg Ryan asks Tom Hanks for advice about how to handle her situation.  He refers her to the film 'The Godfather' and tells her it holds the answers to all of life's questions.  One of those questions is, "What should I pack for my trip?"  Answer:  "Leave the gun, take the cannolis." 

 

For our journey, let us begin by gathering the pieces we must examine in order to choose our goal.  This may involve taking stock of your present situation or your life in general.  It may mean asking yourself what you feel you've been missing, or getting in touch with your younger self to rediscover your sense of playful abandon.  Think about your ideal life, your ideal self, your ideal occupation, your ideal weight, or your ideal hobby.  What would you most like to learn right now?  What would you be doing, if money were no object and the sky is the limit? 

 

One favorite phrase of mine is, "The world is our oyster!"  I say it to myself as a reminder that our only limits to achievement are the ones we tell ourselves.  Limiting thoughts are lies.  They are lies that bind us up, lies that hold us down, lies that keep us from ever trying in the first place.  These lies may have started out as something someone else said to you.  A parent, perhaps, or a well-meaning friend, or sibling, or co-worker.  For a while, you may have held this limiting thought inside your head in that other person's voice, but over time that voice inside your head became your own.  Eventually, you began to believe those limiting thoughts are yours.  But they're NOT.  And they only stay with you as long as you continue to give them power, as long as you insist on carrying them around in your luggage just like those extra clothes and other items you didn't need to pack.

 

My suggestion for this journey?  Pack light.  Bring only an open heart and an open mind.  Remember that the only one who can open a closed mind is the person who closed it to begin with.  If your thoughts have been getting a little stodgy lately, I suggest you bring a crowbar so we can crack open those doors and windows and let a little light and fresh air in there.  Don't be afraid, we'll do it together.  When I was a child, and I got acting a little pent up indoors, my Grammee would say, "Go outside and blow the stink off."  I used to think that was funny, so it stuck in my mind.  Now I believe it is a wonderful prescription for whatever ails you.  Get up off your duff, go outside and take a walk.  And while you're at it, let the fresh air blow away any "stinky thinking" you may have been carrying around with you.  Unpack that suitcase and leave your baggage behind.  Set it down along the side of the road, and never pick it up again.  You don't need it.  Remember that stuff wasn't yours to begin with; somebody else put it in there.  You are your own person now, and you can choose what you need and what you no longer want to carry. 

 

One tangible item I do recommend is a journal to keep track of your progress.  It can be any style you choose, so pick a new one that you like and will be comfortable using.  You will need a smooth writing instrument of some kind, as well, so I guess that makes two things. 

 

And bring your creative imagination.  You might surprise yourself at where the road may lead you.