Can we talk about Monday for a second? It was my first “official” day of summer and I am pretty sure it was one of the best days I have ever had. When I tell you what I did, it might not seem like much, but it was perfect in every way, just how I like it! I started my day with an early 4:30am rise, typical morning routine, and that new granola I had made the day before 😉 Then, it was tons of blog reading, news watching, leaving a message for my doctor, and then a trip to the library! I was so excited! My favorite place and I were able to reconnect after months of being apart! I took my time gathering two new books and just looking at the endless ocean of beautiful novels! I was in heaven. Then I decided to walk a few yards over to the park that is next to the library and finish Packing Light. It was such a glorious day to sit on a park bench in the beautiful sun and escape.

I would have taken a picture of this cute bench I sat on, but with the sun out I couldn’t see my phone screen, so I had no way of finding the camera icon and snapping a picture, so just use you imagination 😉 When I came home, I made lunch, then read a little of my new book, but fell asleep for a quick half hour afternoon siesta! Then it was glorious yoga time! It felt so good to stretch out my body. The day ended with a great dinner of cumin turmeric cinnamon tilapia, a Japanese sweet potato with cinnamon (eaten with my hands like a cut in half length-wise hot dog), and some of a new recipe I have to share. Then just some blogging, emailing, a nice shower, and reading. It was so perfect. It feels like the summer just continued from last year! Like just yesterday I was doing whatever I wanted, sitting in the sun reading, doing yoga while watching the new wait for Prince Henry and Catherine to walk out of the hospital with their new baby (yes, I can still remember that day! O the things that stay with us!).

The only sad thing about that glorious day, was that I finished Packing Light. I can honestly say that book was one of the best I have ever read. It left me so inspired. I have so many things I want to write about that I had form in my mind while reading that book. It also just left me wanting to write. Period. Not just for the blog, but just to get pen to paper and let my mind flow. It is one of those books that changes you and you just can’t help it.

Me “reviewing” this book would not give it justice. There is just too much to say about it and there is just so much emotion, thoughts, and concepts loaded in it. But the one take away I think was most important was that you need to take risks. You need to leave your routine, everyday life, the things you think you need, behind. You may feel like you are going to majorly fail and lose everything, but you won’t. You are going to come out on the other side and have gained so much more. So much new. Something unexpected and something you probably never realized you were capable of.

You have to follow your dream too, even if you think it is so out there and will never pan out. You have to live for yourself and make you own decisions. If you chose not to, you will regret it, but you can only blame yourself and no one else. You never know what you are going to find out there or in yourself. It really can be scary, but fear only leads to growth if we overcome it. You will be surprised at the end and what you do have left and have found. It won’t be what you started with, but it will be something new, something else.

This book had been sitting on my shelf since November. The simple cover and title always had me intrigued (yes, I judge books by their covers). I am so glad I finally picked it up to read at this moment in my life. It really gave me the courage boost and kick in the pants to fully embrace my soon-to-be changing life. I will definitely be “packing light” and leaving so much behind. But what is to come and what I will find will be so great, I can already tell.

I’ll end with a quick overview of why Allison wrote this memoir taken from her website…

Have you ever thought about what you would do with your life if nothing was holding you back? What if you didn’t have to worry about how to pay your bills, or to maintain a certain image, or about what people would say about you?

What would you do?

Several yeas ago, I began to explore my own answer to this question, and as I did, I realized several things were holding me back from the life I believed was important. When I boiled them down to their most basic form, I was shocked to find I was giving up the things I really wanted to hold onto things I didn’t care about that much. Things like money, comfort, and keeping other people happy.

I didn’t feel like I had chosen the life I was living, and I felt trapped, confused and bored.

Inspired by the courage of a friend, and the story of The Rich Young Ruler from the Gospels, I decided to quit my full-time job, move out of my apartment, sell nearly everything I owned and spend the next six months driving across the country.

On the trip I started to discover what it looked like to live life with less baggage, both in actuality, and as a metaphor.

My friend (a musician) played shows along the way to help us pay for food and lodging, and I kept a blog about our adventure. Kind people shared beds, coffee and food. What I learned was that, even when I had nothing, I had a great deal. And in order to get what I really wanted out of life, I needed to be willing to leave some things (even good things) behind. There was only so much room in my suitcase.

I wrote a book about my journey called Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life With Less Baggage.

If you’ve ever felt like you might be settling for a life that’s less than the “abundant” life Jesus promised, if you’re tired of feeling purposeless or bored, if you’re sick of letting meaningless things like fear and insecurity rule your life and get the best of you, if you sense there is something more, Packing Light is for you.

Filled with all the things you expect from a great drama, and a great life — love, friendship, adventure, conflict, triumph, grief and loss — I hope this story helps you discover what I discovered for myself, that the only way to uncover a life of meaning and find freedom to be myself was to lay down my heavy baggage.

What do you really want?

What’s holding you back?

So tell me:

+ Have you ever read a book that make a big impact on your thinking?

+ What have you let go of recently and what have you discovered in it’s place?

*I am linking up with Amanda’s Thinking Out Loud today!*

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