Travel is freedom and lightness

Flying by albertopveiga

Christina Wodtke writes about reveling in the lightness of travel:

But the real secret of travel is the one George Clooney knows, and most folks who see the movie won't believe. It's to stop fighting the impermanence of travel, and to revel in it. I love sliding through security like a hot knife through butter because I know the tricks. I love being the only fuzzy white coat in a sea of blue suits in the A section of Southwest, and love striding past the limo drivers and kissing lovers to the taxi stand without double checking any signs. But better, I love my small duffel I can carry because I learned to pack only two panties, bras and shirts, only pack the book I am actually reading and never ever unpack deoderant, toothbrush or ibuprofen. I love to travel light.

Lightness is always literal and metaphoric with travel. Lightness is the only important lesson of travel. It's the difference between catching your boat or missing it because you can't run to the dock fast enough. Travel favors the prepared, but it also favors the minimalist. George Clooney's character in Up in the Air takes this to its logical extreme. He refuses both physical and emotional baggage, gliding thorugh life like Fred Astaire with rolling luggage. I was amazed the movie didn't judge him for his choice to be frictionless and unburdened, as most Hollywood movies would . In fact, one could argue the only time the story "punished" him was when he tried to add weight to his life. The movie asked us to take a steely eye to our lives and ask how much of the romance, family, and stuff we haul around is really worth it? When you get home from a long trip, how many clean clothes do you have in your luggage, how many unopened medicines, how many unused gadgets? How many of those relatives you can't stand are worth standing? What do you need?

Leave the clutter comforts of home, at home, and enjoy the freedom that traveling light provides.

The Unbearable Lightness of Travel

Travel is freedom and lightness

Flying by albertopveiga Christina Wodtke writes about reveling in the lightness of travel:

But the real secret of travel is the one George Clooney knows, and most folks who see the movie won't believe. It's to stop fighting the impermanence of travel, and to revel in it. I love sliding through security like a hot knife through butter because I know the tricks. I love being the only fuzzy white coat in a sea of blue suits in the A section of Southwest, and love striding past the limo drivers and kissing lovers to the taxi stand without double checking any signs. But better, I love my small duffel I can carry because I learned to pack only two panties, bras and shirts, only pack the book I am actually reading and never ever unpack deoderant, toothbrush or ibuprofen. I love to travel light. Lightness is always literal and metaphoric with travel. Lightness is the only important lesson of travel. It's the difference between catching your boat or missing it because you can't run to the dock fast enough. Travel favors the prepared, but it also favors the minimalist. George Clooney's character in Up in the Air takes this to its logical extreme. He refuses both physical and emotional baggage, gliding thorugh life like Fred Astaire with rolling luggage. I was amazed the movie didn't judge him for his choice to be frictionless and unburdened, as most Hollywood movies would . In fact, one could argue the only time the story "punished" him was when he tried to add weight to his life. The movie asked us to take a steely eye to our lives and ask how much of the romance, family, and stuff we haul around is really worth it? When you get home from a long trip, how many clean clothes do you have in your luggage, how many unopened medicines, how many unused gadgets? How many of those relatives you can't stand are worth standing? What do you need?

Leave the clutter comforts of home, at home, and enjoy the freedom that traveling light provides. The Unbearable Lightness of Travel