“How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you’re carrying a backpack. I want you to feel the straps on your shoulders. Feel ’em? Now I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life. You start with the little things. The things on shelves and in drawers, the knick-knacks, the collectibles. Feel the weight as that adds up… This is what we do to ourselves on a daily basis. We weigh ourselves down until we can’t even move. And make no mistake, moving is living. Now, I’m gonna set that backpack on fire… In fact, let everything burn and imagine waking up tomorrow with nothing. It’s kind of exhilarating, isn’t it?”
~ Up in the Air (2009 film)
I’m off to the Philippines for some hiking and quiet time in the mountains in the north of Luzon. It’s a much needed break to reconnect with nature again. I find solace in nature and am at peace with myself and the world when I’m faced with the natural beauty of the world.
A backpack symbolises travel. The idea of a backpacker is someone who is free-spirited, adventurous, brave, tough, and able to rough it out. The last time I used my black Osprey backpack was in 2007 when I dropped everything in Singapore and left for my working holiday in London. The backpack was a fantastic gift from my then-colleagues. What a fitting farewell present! And it was a present I had put to good use over the course of the eight months I was away and travelling around Europe.
I still put that experience down as the bravest thing I have done in my life. It paved the way for many adventures, long-lasting friendships I would make, and gave me the courage to uproot again and move to Hong Kong (twice!). And Hong Kong in turn has given me so much. That bravado I had is now tampered with age, but I know that I am capable of being independent and surviving on my own. Change is something I embrace and need every once in awhile. Even though I travel mostly with a trolley bag these days, I think I have lived up to the adventurous spirit embodied in a backpack all these years. I still love to explore and travel the world!
At the last stretch of my time in Europe, I lived out of this backpack for three months. Now that I think about it, it’s true that I don’t need a lot to live. To that end, I have been making a conscious effort to buy and use less. These days I question myself more before I buy something. Do I need another dress/jacket/pair of shoes? Often the answer is no. I think more about how the things I buy come about. Were they ethically sourced?
Recently I have also been decluttering – donating clothes I use and books I don’t read anymore, as well as removing people I most likely won’t see again from my Facebook and phone contact lists. It’s true, it feels good mentally to declutter.
A friend commented recently that the writing on my blog has become more introspective. Perhaps it’s to do with age. I don’t know exactly when this questioning began but somehow it has creeped more into my consciousness this year. The same questioning extends to the food I eat. Although it’s not possible to farm my own food, I eat less meat these days for ethical and environmental reasons.
Anyway, my Osprey backpack is finally seeing the light of day again. Perhaps it’s going to be a good time to reflect on the speech made by Ryan Bingham, the “corporate downsizer” played by George Clooney in the film “Up in the Air”. How much does my life weigh?
Off to find some answers.
