homecoming
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
six trips in four weeks: that seems to be my all-time travel record. haven't kept track of my mileage but with the looks of it going from galera to tiaong to sagada to baguio to kabayan to caliraya, i've probably clocked around an average of 100 kilometers a day.
if you told me this in january, i never thought that i'd be travelling as much but since my resignation, i've been going around as frantically as possible. not that i force it to, it's just that i was at the right siuation at the right time. grabbing opportunities like this is a (or should be a) no brainer. a person with feet itching to journey needs to go around.
and so i went and found.
the smell of the salty sea. moonlit nights. the sound of the wind passing through pine trees. clouds rising over the mountains. sumptuous food. openess of the people that i have met. great conversations. the company of friends. the wealth of experiences. myself. my home.
with each trip, i have found myself in a homecoming of sorts. i never felt at home while i was working in makati. being in long sleeves and a tie and losing 3 hours to commute each day is not my idea of living. being looked upon because i work in the most prestigious address in the philippines doesn't suit me well. i was never fond of being boxed up in mere titles. in fact, i seemed lost in all that. it was as if i wasn't in my own skin.
now with all these travel, i am slowly finding out what is important and unimportant in my life.
funny how ironic it is that with this 'moving-away', i actually encounter more and more of myself, and actually find a sense of wholeness. travel has always made me a better person especially when juxtaposed with people who reflect upon my own person, my own reality. i find it amazing how i experience growth in journey-making with people. in these past few weeks, i've been encouraged by people to be my own person (without them really intending to). i believe that a good conversation, a shared meal can be a way to encounter the good in this life.
besides clothes and toiletrees, there is one other thing that i carry with me when i travel: an open dispositon. jon once told me to continue to be open to the world for it yeilds generously to people who do. i find this especially true in my journeys. when i was open, the world has given me more and as such i have learned a lot. people have been more open and generous to me when i allowed myself to be there in that moment. i remember going to hong kong a couple of years back and have found it to be a very friendly place. hong kong isn't exactly known to be the most welcoming of places but i've experienced otherwise. a person cannot receive something that he keeps from other people. as such, i am extremely grateful for travelling friends who look at life in the same way as i do (i hate travelling with people with closed minds).
i love to travel and i know that i find my home through this. (going in the direction of home is always a good destination.) when i am closer to home, i know i am closer to free. as such, i am profoundly grateful for the travels in these past few weeks.
indeed, in all of these, the brown-eyed son has returned home.
posted by lex @ 8:44 PM,
