Oh, and I just found this song a few days ago. I enjoy the sentiment.

Lightly Tossed and Heavily Pruned

I have been wondering this week if one's attitude towards packing for a trip could be indicative of one's general attitude towards change/the unknown/life.

I have been feeling for days as if I should really sit down and get organized ahead of time--knowing full well the benefits of being prepared and thinking ahead. But I don't actually DO anything until the last minute. Instead. I wake up, panicked, in the night's darkest moment and make lists. Here's the thing, though: I have made several lists which repeat themselves and overlap and I keep losing them and having to start all over again.

There are people who worry too much. They want to have exactly the right combination of wardrobe items--so as to have the maximum number of outfits with the minimum number of items; so as to be prepared for any requirements of dressiness/weather/activity.

There are people who can throw some things in a bag and face any resulting inconvenience as an adventure and a good story to tell later.

There are people who figure that anywhere one might want to travel, there are individuals who live there, survive and thrive. Therefore it is pointless to worry much about forgetting anything, since necessary items will have their equivalents and unnecessary items are, well, unnecessary.

It leads me to the question: "How much baggage do I need?"