Don't Overpack

In 2023, I took a long trip to Asia. Before leaving, I walked around my house asking of everything I saw, Could I use this on my trip? I stuffed all these “useful” things into my backpack. Then I realized, with dismay, that my pack was way too heavy to lift. I’d focused so much on usefulness that I'd forgotten to ask what I could actually carry.

It's the same with the mind. We tend to judge our thoughts by whether they feel true or important, but rarely do we examine the burden they place on us. Thoughts of hatred or craving, for instance, may feel urgent and meaningful, yet leave us overwhelmed and exhausted. That’s why somatic practices are so important: we have to feel the impact of thoughts and emotions in our bodies, not just analyze them intellectually.

The Buddha said that before speaking, you should ask whether what you’re about to say is true, useful, and timely. Something can be true and useful but not timely — for example, unloading on someone who doesn’t have space to receive it. But “timely” can also mean what any moment can bear. If you pack every sentence with a thousand thoughts and words, you lose connection with the person in front of you.

This isn't just a matter of language, but of health. When we overload our inner and outer speech, our nervous system pays the price. Carrying too many thoughts — especially charged ones — keeps our bodies in a subtle state of bracing. Learning to notice what a moment can actually hold is a form of psychological hygiene.

The truth of your life is not something that can be crammed into a single sentence or moment. It has to be lived in the unfolding of time. As Rilke said, "Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now." Learning to ask yourself simple, open-ended questions and resist filling the space with easy answers is a sign of wisdom.

Don't overpack. Your journey is long, but you don’t have to carry so much on it. Travel light enough, and you might even enjoy the open road.