A lesson in travelling light: it's the belonging, not the belongings

To truly own the most important things in life, you must sometimes shed the things taking up too much space. To be free, you might have to unshackle yourself from your worldly possessions.

Fifteen years ago, just as I was about to start travelling full time, I cleansed myself of most of the things I owned. There was no deeper philosophy to the act - it was out of necessity because I no longer had a home to store all my junk. But nonetheless, it turned out to be a cathartic experience, leaving me liberated and unburdened.

The old winter jackets I hadn't worn for years, gone. The stereo I couldn't use on the road, gone. My collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collector coins... well, they might be worth something one day, they stayed in storage.

Less than a year into my travels, while sightseeing in Italy, I arrived at the town of Assisi. Here, I started to learn about St Francis and it occurred to me that he might have been on to something. Even 800 years ago, well before anyone could imagine the consumer society we've become, he saw the perils in materialism.

St Francis shunned the trappings of belongings and embraced a frugal life. He encouraged his followers to do the same, telling them to even give up property and money. He treated radical dispossession not as a grim sacrifice, but as a path to total spiritual freedom.

This coming week marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis, who died on October 3, 1226, in the same town where he was born: Assisi. The Pope has proclaimed 2026 to be a special jubilee to honour the saint and there have been events held around the world throughout the year. But the most important ones will take place in the next few days to coincide with the exact anniversary, including a nighttime pilgrimage from the small historic chapel of Portiuncula up to the Basilica of St Francis for a midnight mass.

The basilica is the focal point of historic Assisi, an enormous multi-tiered church that juts out over the Umbrian countryside from the hillside town of pink limestone. Although much of the basilica is opulently decorated with stained-glass windows and vibrant frescoes depicting the saint's life (with centuries of debate about whether it's too lavish), the crypt that holds the austere stone tomb of St Francis has been deliberately left unadorned.

I still remember standing there almost 15 years ago and thinking about that contrast between the majesty and the meagerness. In particular, I thought about it as a traveller, about what's important in life. Because when we travel, we live for a period of time with relatively few possessions. Everything has to fit into a bag or two. Rather than the material, we focus more on experiences - a food tour, skiing down a mountain, visiting a church in an Italian city - and we often come home claiming to be richer for it.

Several years after that first visit to Assisi, I had the opportunity to return for a work trip, invited by the local tourism board to do some sections of a pilgrimage walk. The name of that trail? The Way of St Francis.

The 550-kilometre trail links important landmarks that are part of the story of the man and his influence, starting in La Verna where he is said to have received the stigmata, and finishing at the Vatican. Some pilgrims who follow the trail are Franciscans and will view these sites through the context of their faith. But the majority are doing it for their own reasons, whether it's a personal spiritual journey or just to enjoy the charming landscapes and local foods of central Italy.

I probably walked a line somewhere in the middle between 'mindful pilgrim' and 'hungry tourist'. Originally, I'd thought the main appeal would be the cute little towns, handmade pasta, and cheap red wine, but as I followed the dirt paths between vineyards and olive groves, I found the time to just think, and just be. I felt more content every day. And what did I have with me? Just a small backpack with the most essential possessions, just like St Francis would have advocated. (He wouldn't have approved of the money I also had, but I've gotta buy that wine somehow!)

READ MORE MICHAEL TURTLE:

When I got rid of my belongings all those years ago, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders... even though I instead had a bag upon those same shoulders. But of course, the physical burden of a backpack is very different to the mental burden of 'stuff'.

You don't need to be as radical as St Francis (or me). But when you next take to the road, whether it's a short domestic getaway or a longer international holiday, perhaps have a think about what you're taking and if it's giving you happiness. If you don't need all those shoes when you're away, you may not also need them at home. If the most enjoyable parts of your holiday are meeting new people or spending quality time with those you know, that could be a priority all of the time. Why do we often wait until we are travelling to give ourselves the most meaningful experiences?

I spent almost a decade travelling the world without a permanent residence, and visiting Assisi in the first year is something I still carry with me. Now that I have a base back in Australia, it's nice to be amongst family and friends. But it's the belonging, not the belongings, that brings me happiness. It's still out on the road, unshackled from materialism and carried along by experiences, that I feel the most free.