Traveling Light
by Cindy Coe
January 31, 2011
My sixitemsorless wardrobe will soon get a real test – I’m traveling soon to a professional conference, where I’ll be presenting my first big project since my time off as a full time mommy. I did consider the timing of this conference when I chose my six items – my Ralph Lauren dress was purchased (on clearance for $45) just for this purpose, so I feel pretty good about sticking with the program.
My presentation will be about introducing children to the needs of the very poor in developing nations, a curriculum called The Abundant Life Garden Project for Episcopal Relief & Development (er-d.org). My sixitems wardrobe will, in a sense, be a wearable prop in showing that we in America really do live in abundance that many people on this earth do not currently share. By downscaling our material “needs” and wants, we are certainly in a better position to share with those who could use a few seeds or a couple of goats to sustain themselves and obtain even a few of the many items we take for granted.
Perhaps more freedom to do more with what we have is at the crux of this project. We free ourselves of clutter, of the headaches of managing all our “stuff,” and of spending time shopping and worrying over clothing we probably didn’t need in the first place. We might not save the planet, but it wouldn’t be a bad start.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to traveling light, both literally and figuratively. By-passing baggage check-in and the claims carousel will be a delight, and I won’t even have to spend more than a few moments planning and packing my one carry-on. Maybe there’s something to that line from the song by En Vogue, “free your mind, and the rest will follow.”
Cindy Coe 