Reasons To Travel Slow (Manila, Philippines)
To those who think travelling means going to exotic places (names of which you can’t pronounce), taking insta-worthy pictures with your back against the camera, and an insightful quote like “Soul search with my sole person #Constant #Main”, let me tell you something.
Hi, you are wrong.
Travelling with regards to rediscovering a part of yourself or learning something about yourself, can be achieved by doing something as simple as going to a new city or even a new location for work. Who said you can only cleanse your mind on the beaches of the Bahamas?
Man, if I wanted to, I could soul search on my way to work every morning. I can cleanse my mind while discovering a new dessert place locally and stuffing my face with chocolate cake as my #Main and #Dessert (Get it? Get it?)
The fact of the matter is that to me, I make it a point to learn something amidst my travels, wherever I may go. If it puts me in a new environment, if it makes me break my daily routine and exposes me to a new surrounding/vibe or atmosphere. I will learn, re-discover, and absorb something new. I make it a point to. No pressure or whatever.
So when I travelled to Spain for the first time, I re-discovered a part of myself I had entirely forgotten ever existed. Been treasuring that side of me ever since.
When I travelled home to the Philippines last year, I re-discovered the aspects of my childhood I used to enjoy and my attributes as a child that brought in the much-needed color I forgot to apply to my life once I grew up.
This year, when we went back home once again, and my travels were greeted with another new intonation. Instead of having a flurry of activities, I spent most of my time at home with family. And playing cards with my grandma (who is such a card sharp, dude).
I still did a lot; go out with cousins, eat at new places, go shopping, and all that fun stuff. But, we did it spontaneously. In the moment and with a more relaxed schedule than before. I did simple things like drinking green tea in the veranda or spent the evening walking around the neighborhood, finding a park with a swing, getting afternoon ice cream, and the like. It was definitely a notch different, but it taught me to savor the moment in traveling as opposed to maximizing your time by trying to do more.
It gave me more time to think, too.
Like for example, it made me realize how lucky I was that my family lived in the same locality so everyone can come home for lunch on Sunday. Or how amazing my uncle is that he remembers to take us to local restaurants to make sure we eat all our childhood favourite dishes (Jollibee Tuna Pie FTW!). Or even my cousins who despite being busy with work and kids, still steal us away after dinner for a drive around town. Or even my aunts who never forget the things we like to eat and make sure they cook a round of dishes for us. Or the friends that make time to see us and take us to places with REALLY good chocolate cake.
These things, everything is so, so important to be grateful for. But often go unnoticed. Why?
Maybe because we are already thinking about what’s next, rather than sitting in one place and enjoying the moment for what it is. Our life is so fleeting, so fast and so damn busy that we are always chasing someone or something. A person, a goal, a moment or an objective. Constantly running to make sure we hit the next check post instead of enjoying the hot chocolate on the way there.
And the things that are truly important to us are lost in that blur.
How do we know when to move past something quick enough and when to be mindful of the moment we have? How do we know when to finish all our tasks so we could stop worrying about our inbox when we go out for dinner? When do we take it slow, when do we take it fast?
How do we remember to savour a moment before it’s gone?
I guess it all comes down to what you consider important. If chasing a goal makes you happy, and it’s what you rather prioritize, then who is to stop you from doing so?
If enjoying the warmth of a coffee mug on a Sunday morning is what you consider important, then who is to say otherwise?
I know it’s a little tricky to define what you should consider of value and pay more attention to, but at the end of the day, if it makes you happy, then nothing wrong with that.
So young grasshopper (or bunny, because diversity) travel to remember what you consider important. What aspects of your life you want to pay more attention to and what you have to be grateful for.
Travel to a place somewhere new so you can look at things differently and gain an insight to a burdening (or so you thought) daily problem that is now so insignificant.
Travel to a new environment that makes you endure certain circumstances that helps you be thankful with what you had before.
Travel to remember, or pay attention to the people you consider important, the value of the time you invest in them, and their role in your life that you somehow took for granted.
Travel to realize that what you had all along was nothing short of the most precious things in the world.
You just didn’t know it.
May you travel to those exotic places anyway,
Niki :)
