Yesterday, my dear friend Luca told me an insightful story. Every year he makes an eight days pilgrimage with a group of men. He always walks with his reliable 50-litres backpack in which he puts the essentials for a week spent outdoor.
Last year, one of his fellow pilgrims showed up with a 12-litres backpack. Despite the initial scepticism of the other participants, he went the whole distance without missing anything. And above all, by making much less effort. This year, Luca will walk with a much smaller backpack.
How much stuff are we carrying around because we believe we can't do with less?
Maybe, because we are so worried about what can happen, we bring more stuff just in case. Or perhaps it's because we believe for something to be necessary when it's not. Or maybe we don't trust enough our ability to do with less, so we want to be prepared.
Whatever the reason, the visible excess we carry around is often the reflection of an invisible weight that we have inside.
Until someone or something, like in Luca's story, challenge our beliefs, and we discover that we can let go of some of the stuff we dim necessary, making our walk much more effortless.
P.S. If you are curious about Luca's walk, just send me a message, and I'll connect you with him.