What I Really Need Is... A Life With(out) Possessions

From walkslowlylivewildly.com

I've been living from a car for over a month now. I've gotten used to not having things (like refrigeration, plumbing, clean toes, etc.) but I haven't gotten over the feeling of freedom I experience almost daily.  There are very difficult times; I'm still living a real life despite what people think. However, I can't imagine being back at my apartment unless it meant being outside in my garden and up in the mountains around my place. Actually being inside, at a desk, sitting still- that's incomprehensible to me now.

I started thinking about possessions and pondering my attitude towards them. I forced myself to think of what I would keep from back home if I were only able to take what would fit in my car. At first, I thought I'd easily be able to sell it all. But as I began mentally walking through and "seeing" what I had, I realized I still find myself attached to possesions. Not as intensely as before, but the idea that I needed things hasn't dissipated as much as I thought. How long does it take to untrain ourselves from this attitude towards things?

I decided that if I were forced, I would take the things that have sentimental value. Photos, being digital now, all fit on an external hard drive, so that's easy. I'd also bring along a blanket that my Nana made me by hand when I was six- hundreds of tiny knit colored squares in a child-sized cover. I'd take the books my great aunt & uncle sent me for my mother to read to my twin brother and I as children. I'd take the journals I wrote growing up; the dress I wore to my brother's wedding, the cards my dad sent me for every birthday since moving out West on my own. Oh, and my KitchenAid mixer. Because I do miss cupcakes. ;)


What would you load into your car?