Thailand Planning

Whew. Time and again I am absolutely amazed at the amount of stuff that I can accumulate. In preparation for my upcoming travels, I have been sorting through all of the things that I have accumulated in the last eighteen months out west and trying to get rid of as much as possible. It's clear to me that I have been kidding myself thinking that I own little material possessions. A DVD here, a new shirt there, and before you know it there are piles of rarely used media, clothes, etc.

I made the decision years ago that I would rather spend my money on traveling as opposed to material items. I think of it as an investment in my personal growth, with the returns being of far greater worth than any gadget or what have you could provide. That's not to say that I haven't spent my fair share of cash on entertainment, but when I do I try to make sure that it involves other people like going out to a movie, or concert, or just down the street to have a beer. It's a win-win situation as I don't accumulate useless crap and I have a good time living life.

So this brings me back to my packing woes and how I seem to have still managed to acquire quite a bit more than I remember fitting into my car when I made the journey out here. So I've been going through my belongings one by one and anything that I haven't used in the past year, and that I could acquire again relatively easily I put it in my ebay/donation pile. After all, quality over quantity is my motto. What's the point of having a vast library of books if you only go back to one or two each year? The rest is just taking up more space, creating more of a hassle when you move, and preventing other people from gaining knowledge from them.

So I'm far from perfect in this regard, but I work hard at trying to live simply and keep a clutter free life. It's amazing how much stress and unclear thinking having stuff piled up everywhere can create without me even realizing it. I'm definitely at the top of my game creative wise the less things I have around to distract me. I guess that is one of the major attractions to me about traveling. It forces you to take the essential and leave the rest behind.

“The things you own end up owning you.”
-Tyler Durden, Fight Club