Illustration by Gary Clement for The National
Imagine you had to leave your current life and all of the “stuff” in it. That all you were allowed is one suitcase full to the brim. You can choose what you want and what gets left behind.
You have no option of storing things or upgrading to a bigger trunk or extra bag. So what do you choose? How do you go about it?
After the initial shock of having to do this, you might start thinking about what sort of life you’d be leading for the next few years, where you’d be based, and about your plans for the future.
Perhaps, as you rummage through your possessions, you will realise that no, you don’t really need all this stuff anyway. That instead of it being a hellish situation, this a great opportunity to sift and select what will work for you, for your new life.
I recently saw a friend who had packed up and left the UAE not too long ago – having spent a few decades here, put the kids through university and so on. When he and his wife were getting ready to leave, they realised that they had a lot of stuff.
Instead of taking it with them, they decided to whittle it down and take only what was important to them, and they gave the rest away – passing on memories and prized possessions to their children and other people in their life. He told me he didn’t realise how much they had, and said there are only so many vases and trinkets you need in life.
They packed what was important into a few bags, and left.
Another couple decided, their children having flown the nest, that they too wanted to focus on what’s important, and simplified their lives. They sold all their possessions and moved into a serviced apartment.
Sounds heartless
The original article was first published in The National
