Just in case

 

Of course when one travels, one finds themselves in the final few days before departure trying to think of everything to ensure readiness.  Give it up.  Either you are ready or you're not.  Readiness has nothing to do with knowing what to take and making sure you have it packed, thinking of every possible scenario and thing you might need to ensure you take it along JUST IN CASE.  In case of what?  Do you live your life like that?  Do you buy every possible thing that's out there so that you have that thing JUST IN CASE?  

No.  Of course not.  If we did, we would all live in places that looked like a hoarder's paradise, and never use any of what we bought.  Oh wait.....

Ok, so maybe I have, in the past, indiscriminately purchased the odd item that I didn't really need, but there was a remote possibility of needing it at some point in the future, so it went home with me JUST IN CASE.  And when traveling, or preparing to travel, there is soooo much temptation to take along all the things we think we might need JUST IN CASE of something happening and we can't get that thing where we're going.  Which in some cases may be true.  I'm guessing that it may not be possible to find our favourite peanut butter in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, or a specific brand of granola bar in the Sahara desert.  But for the most part, in all my travels, I have rarely, if ever, even thought about most of the things I've taken along on my travels JUST IN CASE.  

In fact, I have had a small toiletry bag packed with pretty much the same things for over 20 years, including such things as a couple of bandaids, (JUST IN CASE I get a blister on my heels when walking), travel sizes of things like Downy wrinkle releaser (because wrinkles are soooo terrible), a small sewing kit (JUST IN CASE I have to sew a button back on), and nail glue (JUST IN CASE one of the fake nails I never wear comes off and I have to glue it back on again.)  But guess what?  90 - 100% of the things that I have had packed in that little bag I have never, ever even noticed they were there.

Considering how frequently I've ever needed to sew a button back on, maybe 5 times in the last 40 years, the likelihood of needing to do it while traveling is infinitessimally small.  Sewing kit - gone.

Since I don't remember the last time I wore fake nails - that nail glue is gone.

Downy wrinkle releaser - I don't travel for business anymore, and even when I did, I simply ironed my dress clothes - and business casual (wrinkles and all) has become the norm, so...... gone.

JUST IN CASE I thought any of this mattered to anyone..... the point is that I was going through life trying to be a good boy scout and Be Prepared for every possible scenario that I could think of - and the reality is that I don't know what's around the corner when I'm not traveling, and I don't prepare for those same possibilities.  I don't have fake nails or nail glue in my at-home drawer, so why would I need it when traveling?  I don't have a full size bottle of wrinkle releaser, in fact, I don't remember the last time I had the ironing board out.  And bandaids?  I just threw out a whole box of bandaids because they were so old they weren't sticking properly anymore - and I couldn't remember the last time I had a blister or any other reason to use a bandaid.

JUST IN CASE doesn't exist.  Furgeddaboudit.  Live.  If you find yourself in need of something you've forgotten to take along on your travels, you'll probably be able to buy it wherever you're going - unless of course you're going to the deep jungles of Africa, and even then, I wouldn't be so sure.  Humans and their commerce have infiltrated almost every corner of the world.  I recently saw a photo of a massive cruise ship - in Antarctica.

JUST LIVE.  I'm going to New Zealand for a month with a backpack and a carryon.  Why?  Because I don't need anything else.