This is a personal story of how I have been able to find hope in the shape of an empty suitcase.
Several years ago, while browsing through an online message board, I happened upon an inspiring post: A retired psychiatrist by the internet handle of “DrHelen” described her method for dealing with the melancholy she felt after she had finished working.
She identified something that brought her joy and excitement and figured out a way to get herself a steady supply of it. She had always enjoyed traveling. The anticipation of a trip was almost as wonderful as the trip itself. She loved planning and thinking about where she was going and what she was going to do.
DrHelen’s Plan
She decided she would take one trip each month. Some months it could be a trip to the Florida beaches. Some months it would have to be a simple weekend at a B&B out in the suburbs. It could be just a Saturday night at the fancy hotel downtown or two weeks in Southeast Asia. The anticipation and planning for each trip would be just what she needed to lift her spirits.
Her Suitcase Was the Key
Her post explained another important component of her plan: since she would be using her suitcase each month, it didn’t make sense to store it away in the closet after each trip. She placed it in plain view just inside her bedroom door. That made all the difference. It energized her to see that suitcase each night as she went to bed and each morning as she awoke. The suitcase kick-started that feeling of excitement and anticipation each day.
My Adaptation
A couple of years ago, I tried out DrHelen’s trick. Although I didn’t take a trip each month, I placed my suitcase next to my bedroom door. I decided to consider many different kinds of outings as my “trips.” These included weekends out of town, dinner dates, and, of course, escape room outings.
It worked. Seeing that suitcase every night and every morning reminded me of the fun things I had coming up. It made a difference in my outlook on the daily grind. Just reminding myself that we had an escape room booked for next Saturday and that we had 6 escape games booked in Chicago for a weekend next month….thoughts like that would help me start each day with a smile.
During the month of March 2020, as COVID-19 forced me to cancel multiple trips and many escape rooms bookings, I grew resentful of my suitcase. It was sitting there reminding me of where I wouldn’t be going and of escape games that I wouldn’t be playing. My suitcase tormented and mocked me.
Hope in the Time of Corona
Then I realized that DrHelen’s trick could still work, even in the face of a pandemic and quarantine. I now see that suitcase as a sign of hope that someday this will all be over. That suitcase reminds me of the trips that I will take and the escape rooms that I will play.
It signifies the two upcoming REA tours I will be attending and my planned 21-game trip to The Netherlands, which is capped off by The Dome. My suitcase tells me that I will get back to Los Angeles and to that exciting list of escape rooms that it pained me to cancel.
The suitcase teases me to anticipate that feeling of walking into the lobby of an escape room company knowing that there is an award-winning or world-renowned game in the building. I anticipate sitting through escape game introductions again. I think about that feeling right after the door closes when my 60 minutes begin. I imagine chatting with the owners after playing a room and then reliving it with my friends over dinner. It’s all there in that empty suitcase.
If this idea sounds like it is something you’d enjoy, give it a try. Place your suitcase by your bedroom door. Look at it every night and every morning and think about what represents for you for when the world starts turning again. Think about the places you will go and the escape rooms you will play. And give a thought to DrHelen, whoever she is, and the fact that her idea is helping people get through something she never imagined all those years ago.
