Bits of Life

XIV. Go Somewhere to Get to Yourself

Going places away from home gives you the chance to get in touch with yourself. It is one of the best ways to learn more about yourself. Travelling is an opportunity to reflect on your life. You don't have to go abroad, but go if you can. You don't even need to go to another island or region, but go if you can. When I graduated from college and life started to take on me seriously, I needed that space away from my usual in order to clear up my life's extra baggage. Without much money to spend for a vacation, I only needed to take a bus ride from where we live and travel two hours away where my money could take me, get myself some refreshment of ice cold mt.dew, and visit a local parish church if possible. Then I take the bus back home.

Two or three hours of sitting on the bus doing nothing gives me time to think about myself. What's going on with myself, with me and the people around me, with me and my daily routine. Two or three hours of knowing you can't do house chores, or work tasks on the bus makes me able to focus on drafting or redrafting how I attack life and its challenges. More often than not, I start with my blessing inventory. What are the things I should be thankful for? If you take time on contemplating on this, you will find out that there is always something to be thankful for. I also dig deep what things, practices, and people are keeping me from living a comfortable and peaceful life. And two to three hours of the bus ride can make me draw one or two useful ways of how to get away from them.

Sometimes, I didn't even need to think about life. I just take the bus, go five or more districts away, and the peace and quiet plus the tranquility of the unusual view from the bus windows can already take away heavy burdens from my heart and head. I remember one time, I took the bus, traveled two hours, got down to look for icy mt. dew, and took the next bus back home. I didn't even have to process any life puzzles in my head, but I went home refreshed and extra light.

One day, I was also feeling funny about Christmas time, why I was working diligently from 8 to 5 but can't buy my family Christmas gifts. I took the bus from our local Parish church after the ninth Simbang Gabi (dawn mass) and went to Roxas City (about 85 kilometers one way from home). Got myself a cup of coffee, went to see two or three friends who live around the area, waited until the last bus trip and took it back home. It was Christmas eve, I guess I was even the only passenger at that time. I sat behind the chauffeur. The conductor gave me my ticket, took my fare, and asked, "going home for Christmas Eve? Lucky you, we have to sleep in the quarters tonight for the first trip tomorrow morning. Enjoy your family. Merry Christmas." and he hummed a Christmas tune. I felt the sadness in that "Silent Night" humming. I went away from home during the daytime of Christmas Eve just because I didn't have presents to give my family, while others wished they could have spent more time with their loved ones, a gift that money can't buy. Lessons I learn from taking random bus rides.

Maybe you're not really looking to escape from problems. But all of us can take advantage of a break from our usual diets of all work and no play. Once you go to another place to unwind, you will realize how much you need to disconnect from the pressures of being available by phone, email or social media all the time. A vacation doing nothing at all is just what you need to renew yourself.

What should you do when you're somewhere else away from home and work? Nothing, really. Just relax and be present in the moment. Let sensations like the waves on the beach and the warmth of the sun, along with the sound of seagulls or other birds in the rainforest if that is where you'd rather be, recharge your batteries. Live day to day: focus on where you want to go each day - enjoy the sun burning your skin while you hop on islands, get stung by a bruise on the knee climbing rocks in the mountains - what activities do you want to pursue while traveling? What are you going to eat? What souvenirs do you want to buy for yourself? Travel helps your body and spirit reboot in a way you can't achieve at home or at work regardless of how comfortable your sofa or your lounges are.

A few months back, I got to travel to El Nido in Palawan with my best friend for the last time before he got sick and passed away. He was the same best friend whom I traveled with to Sipalay in Negros to do charity works. The same bestfriend I traveled to Roxas City for we had a sudden change of aircraft ride when our supposed plane got stuck in Iloilo Airport due to a bad landing. The same best friend I traveled with to Taytay Rizal to help another friend build her business. Why do we travel? We get bored from our usual life routine and tend to forget how special our friendship is. When we are stuck in the mud of our daily life, it is easy to lose sight of what we have. Our eyes are closed to what is really special about people important to us. Exploring another place together gives us a fresh appreciation for where we come from, and our "real life." Once we are back, we feel lucky to live where we do and whom we are friends with. You'll see that there really is no place like home. No real place like beside your best friend.

Today, I got to catch up a little with my college friends. One of them, Marb, loves to travel on foot to different countries in the Middle east. We may travel to learn something specific: a new language, a new delicacy, aspects of different cultures, or even a deeper appreciation of faith or spirituality. As a bonus, we can take away more than our specific goal. We discover totally different ways of doing things - Marb shared, "I have some culture shocks but then I'm just a passerby, I just have to listen and learn something."

Miss Joy, shared about a person's passion in farming when she went to Taiwan. Rose, shared about the delight of traveling with companions to different local dioceses. Travel makes us gain awareness of new customs, cultures, people and places. Because we are actually experiencing this learning in real life, not just reading it in a textbook, it will surely stay with us for a long time. We'll gain a deep sense of satisfaction with the new skills we learn – and new insights we gain.

A few weeks ago, I was able to go back to my favorite beach, Boracay. This time with someone I cherish the most. Traveling helped us make unforgettable memories. We enjoyed the slow and peaceful breakfasts, the long walks, the new experiences (he got to experience helmet diving for the first time), places, food, people we met and of course the memories. These make us feel happy we are alive. And we surely will travel again for these reasons.

Another friend told me she would rather travel abroad than locally. She'll spend the same amount of money anyway. Not me though, I would travel abroad if there is a chance, but I would love to complete all destinations locally as well - to each his own. My weird travel goal is to have my back tattooed with the country's map and have every province I go to be colored or tattooed with their local iconic symbol. It would be nice to have the tattoo done from the specific province, too.

-meizun