The biggest lesson in non-attachment- packing your evacuation bags.

Looking around at what I owned, I realized how my expensive material belongings bring me little overarching joy and satisfaction in life. Stripped to the core, it was the irreplaceable, twenty-year-old (!) pieces of paper stored in a precious letter box that hold the most value for me. Handwritten cards from my 100-year old grandmother written in her shaky yet seemingly perfect font. Letters from my other grandmother when her Parkinson’s forced her to resort to the typewriter. She was a fierce spirit trapped in a slowly dying body as she processed how her life was coming to a close. I was in college feeling like my life was just beginning. She wrote to me about her doctor’s appointment, the endeavors of my various cousins, how proud she was of all of us- and always encouraged me to always have a Plan B, a Plan C, and a Plan D. “Always give yourself options". That advice has stayed with me. Wisdom from a brave and courageous woman who applied for a college scholarship to escape the internment camps. Education was literally her ticket to freedom and building a new life.

I packed all of these letters, as well as the vases and pots made by my dad and the ceramics we created together.

When everything is at the danger of being stripped away, there is a window of opportunity to reassess the things that truly hold value. The things that really matter.