How much land does the man need?

Leo Tolstoy posed this famous question in 1886 to the mankind. Had he been alive in this age of flying, I am sure, he would have definitely re-framed it. It would be, ‘How much baggage does the man need?’

This very awakening occurred to me when my left arm denied obeying my brain’s supremacy to control its action. This mutiny was initially dealt with a forceful compliance and in return the left arm sent the pulses of pain! The brain had to abandon its commands and instead rake the memory for the root cause. A few minutes of searching the labyrinth of the gyrus and sulcus, Mr Brain turned his eye of fury towards me. Before I could realize, I was put behind the bars under the charge of “not travelling light”!

 

 

When I sat and applied an ice pack on the grumpy shoulder to coax it to turn around, I had me to blame and Leo Tolstoy for company!

It so happened that I had to visit my native for a short round trip over the week end. A small hand bag was enough to pack my essentials.  I was happy on two counts. One for not requiring me to stand in the queue to drop my luggage and get the boarding pass at the airline counter, web check-in coupled with bag drop facility at the terminal was enough. Second one for not needing me to wait for the baggage to arrive on the luggage belt, saving me some precious time.

My happiness was short lived. As I mentioned earlier, I was returning from native! I think this itself is enough a hint. The lure of organic manure, some home-grown saplings, few farm-fresh organic products and homemade ghee (specially made by my mother for her grandchildren) was irresistible. Returning from native without sweet-meats and snacks from the “world famous” (that’s per me) sweet shop would have been blasphemous. So there were few kilos of them too!

As I was packing my stuff, my hand bag proved insufficient to accommodate this extended haul of assortments. I had to borrow a handbag from my mother. Checking its weight by approximation, I mean lifting it in one hand and guessing its weight, based on history of my travel with two kids in tow, I realised that I would have to check-in the bag and won’t be allowed to carry as the cabin bag. So be it, I had thought.

Here the seeds of my sorrow were sown! Lifting the same, with single hand, from the luggage belt upon my return added to it. And then followed my misery… Though I justified my thought behind carrying the precious stuff from native, to myself precisely, my body did not find it worthy. It protested and I had no option but to confess, again to myself, that it was really not required!

Life’s lesson registered in bold and italics, ‘Travel light‘.

Looking back at the experience, I feel, is it not true for life as well? We pick up things in the journey of life, in the spur of the moment, unknowingly adding to weight to our spirit. Can I not stop for a moment and refrain from getting sold to the pull of attractions and attachments? Probably this way I would enjoy the journey of life with much more pleasure and less pain!


Linking this post to #MondayMusings by Corrine Rodrigues of EverydayGyaan

 


32 Comments

Abhijit Ray · September 3, 2018 at 7:10 pm

Indians are not used to travel light. I think it is in our genes. Partly also in earlier times we had to pack everything in a hold all. That tradition is continuing. Even in chair cars we carry huge suitcases. God save us. May be only a stiff penalty can chastise us.

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    That means we need 2G treatment for this…God or Government (rule)! Thanks Abhijit for this thought.

Mayuri6 · September 4, 2018 at 7:55 am

Beautiful analogy, Anagha. Your post has given me food for thought. I can never travel light, with luggage or otherwise too.

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 8:30 am

    Thanks Mayuri. Even I am a heavy traveller but now must change my ways…

BellyBytes · September 4, 2018 at 11:36 am

How true. we often carry a lot of baggage both metaphorically and literally. I have mastered the art of travelling light but very often that gets me into trouble when I don’t have the one dress I should have carried with me 😉

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 11:56 am

    Oh man..thats not fair, isnt it Sunita? But does it not give you another chance for shopping? I hope you love shopping! 🙂
    Between…Coming over to you for taking up classes on travelling light!
    Thanks for visiting and sharing your snippet.

      BellyBytes · September 4, 2018 at 2:50 pm

      Actually that’s what I do – shop if required else plan to take only things I need . Will gladly give you lessons . In fact will probably write about it !

        Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 4:36 pm

        Look forward to the post Sunita.

Sajid Akhter · September 4, 2018 at 12:39 pm

Hi Anagha,

Very important lesson indeed. I completely agree with you. Once we visit our native place, no matter how much we try, but we can’t help getting some extra baggage. And we have no option but to obey our elders.

Thanks for sharing, have a good day. 🙂

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    I am glad that I am not alone when it comes to resisting the stuff from the native and throwing the “travel light” advice out of the window! Thanks for visiting.

Sonia Chatterjee · September 4, 2018 at 2:11 pm

Until I became a mother, I really preferred to travel light. Then it would be bags full of infant stuffs. It is a little better now but I doubt when I can go back to those just a trolley only days.

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 2:38 pm

    I can so understand that Sonia. Thanks for visiting.

Roshan Radhakrishnan · September 4, 2018 at 4:55 pm

I’m a bit of a contradiction here… I do carry an additional pair of clothes beyond what is needed always. But if you were to meet me in security check, you’d be surprised since i dump it all in luggage and walk hands free with no cabin baggage

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 5:04 pm

    That’s interesting! Thanks Roshan for sharing the other side of the coin with your own experience.
    Thanks for visiting.

Questy Musings · September 4, 2018 at 6:01 pm

I loved the way you connected travel luggage to mental baggage in the last paragraph!!

    Anagha Yatin · September 4, 2018 at 6:07 pm

    Actually that was the most subtle lesson that I learnt from the whole exercise. Thanks for visiting and I am glad the post resonated well with you.

Jheelam · September 5, 2018 at 12:52 am

“As I mentioned earlier, I was returning from native! I think this itself is enough a hint.”- I can so relate with this. Every time I visit my parents, my return-baggage expands twice the size. The quote by Tolstoy is golden, so is your last paragraph.

Ramya · September 5, 2018 at 4:08 am

When we travel home, we cannot avoid sweets made by mom, right? But, other than that, I think we should travel light always. Recently I traveled to US from India and had to go through many rounds of elimination to decide what to leave so that luggage is not exceeding.

Holly J · September 5, 2018 at 5:29 am

This is why they invented the “postal service.” They make boxes, and you stick stickers (paid for in money, of course) on them, with your address, and you mail it back to where you’re living now. (Of course if it’s perishable, that’s a problem – but for that, they make these gel ice things (I get medication, monthly, that must be kept cold during shipping – I wish I could share half my freezerful of these things with you, and recycle them!) Anyway, I do hope that your arm and shoulder are feeling better! Good advice to travel light – both physically and mentally. To let go of that which we don’t need.

Hema · September 5, 2018 at 5:41 pm

This post is a reality check , I often pack way too much. I totally agree with you on the extra baggage part

#MyFriendAlexa #zenithbuzzreads

    Anagha Yatin · September 5, 2018 at 6:16 pm

    Thanks Hema for dropping by and sharing your experience.

magiceye · September 5, 2018 at 7:08 pm

So true. As one ages, one should start getting rid of excess baggage for a healthy and fun life!

    Anagha Yatin · September 5, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    Thanks for echoing my thoughts! Thanks for visiting

Nupur Maskara (@nuttynupur) · September 5, 2018 at 11:15 pm

I’m always in the same boat! Courier’s my best friend then.

Ishieta · September 9, 2018 at 4:15 pm

I have a mixed point of view in this. Travel light, yes! Travel lightly through life – definitely yes, we must try! But home made stuff — now for it, 1 or 2 extra pieces of luggage – -absolutely Yes!! 🙂 That is one baggage/ luggage worth carrying.

    Anagha Yatin · September 9, 2018 at 5:51 pm

    Thanks Ishieta for visiting and sharing your valid view point.

Manpreet · September 9, 2018 at 4:46 pm

hahaha it pinches even more if you have to pay for extra baggage…some lessons are learnt the hard way….

    Anagha Yatin · September 9, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    U said it Manpreet. Thanks for visiting and adding this point to discussion on topic.

Kadambari Singh · September 9, 2018 at 8:37 pm

lesson learnt

    Anagha Yatin · September 9, 2018 at 9:34 pm

    Yes, an important one. Thanks Kadambari

blueskydreamers · September 10, 2018 at 4:17 am

What a profound thought! We think little things and little thoughts don’t take much space but then we never realize how these tiny things make for a baggage too heavy for us to lift! Travel light…In the journey of life as well as otherwise.

    Anagha Yatin · September 10, 2018 at 6:46 am

    Hey, Purva we resonate in sync! Thanks for visiting and sharing your thought.

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