capacity
Packing. Packing. Packing.
I spent the last, what feels like 2 months, packing.
Packing up our house.
Packing for a 6-month family trip through France.
There was 1 consistent problem I ran into while packing in both scenarios.
What is allowed and my actual capacity rarely aligned.
I am allowed to fill as many storage units as I would like with all the things we never use, never wear, and never play with.
We are allowed to carry on 1 suitcase, 1 book bag, and check as many as 10 bags person.
10. Bags. Per. Person.
I never dreamed of taking that many suitcases. In fact, when I compared my plan to what was allowed, I felt quite good about myself and our ability to take much less than 10 bags per person.
Even though I felt like we were well within our limits, when I looked at our actual capacity in the rental car in France, I realized, we need an Uber just for our luggage.
We weren’t breaking any rules and we weren’t being excessive, but we were not within our limits.
The process of simplifying has to involve capacity.
It just has to.
There has to be a balance between growing and understanding I wasn’t always made for more. It’s not about staying comfortable and living the easy life.
There are times for stretching.
But is all of life supposed to be about more and next?
Are the things I’m saying yes to in line with my priorities? Not my default priorities, but the ones I desperately want.
Am I filling my house with more than I was ever supposed to care for?
Are these ‘things’ helping facilitate peace or are they temporarily filling the space where peace lives making it even harder to find and maintain?
Sometimes capacity is clear.
IE: This car will not hold all of that luggage you plan on bringing.
But sometimes it’s vague.
I’m searching for those healthy boundary lines.
The delicate balance of growth and peace.
The place where there is room for growth because it isn’t filled with all the more I’ve let in.
Simple: leaving space for peace and growth because I haven’t filled it with everything else.
