Preparing for an adventure down to Death Valley, California, choosing the proper kit is extremely important to ensure a safe and successful trip. But just as important is the decision to choose which thoughts and emotions I will also carry along on this journey.

This road trip would be a blend of; questing, camping, touring some sites and visiting a few friends. Getting the camping gear ready was the easy part. I set up the tent in the living room, tested the camp stove, washed the cookware and collected all the outerwear. Working from memory I basically recalled all the needed camping bits, but to be safe, I did do a quick review from a master list that I have refined over the years.

New to this list is an intentional review of what mental and emotional baggage I may inadvertently bring along. So I have been consciously evaluating everything going on in life right now and with the goals of the adventure in mind, I compartmentalized those things I wanted to bring with me to reflect on, dealt with any unfinished business, set aside ongoing issues and discarded the frivolous.

This conscious exercise has freed up a lot of emotional ‘space’ for me to more fully enjoy the upcoming adventure. From experience I do know that the less you carry physically, and emotionally, the lighter and richer the journey will be.

As I looked over my things, thoughts and intentions one last time, an old travelers creed came to mind; ‘take half the stuff and twice the cash’ … of course the extra cash is for getting into or out of trouble … and so having lightened my physical and emotional baggage I set out on another adventure!