Being a part of the corporate world is no easy feat. As a budding CPA, I was fraught with numerous challenges emanating from my superiors and my clients alike. This made life a bit difficult and more tedious, and I got pressed for time because of all of the pressures I got from my job. I got stuck in a whirlwind of responsibilities, and my life, before I realized it, is turning into a disarray. But lest I forget, I have a responsibility to keep to myself also.
With a broken heart, a confused mind and exhausted soul, my body was longing for some semblance of reprieve in my hodgepodge reality that kept getting more confusing every breathing second. My body was searching for avenues to recoup my lost energy, to refill my drained manna, and to motivate me to keep on moving forward. The more I longed the clearer the solution became – I have to distance myself from the bedlam that is weighing me down.
In this search for some semblance of inner peace, I discovered the pleasures of travelling. From a simple weekend getaway in Nagsasa, Zambales about three years ago, I have since gone a long way, discovering off-the-beaten path destinations and travelling to distant places I have never thought I would be able to get the chance to travel to.
But as I go through the picture and every memory of every place I visited, I have began to realize something more. Travelling has done me more beyond just being a respite from the pandemonium that is my life. Travelling has taught me a lot of lessons that have given an impact on my life.
“Experience is the best teacher.”
In getting out of my shell, I get to fathom that life can be more than just a recurring tableau of mundane and forgettable experiences. Life, in its simplest, has so much more to offer, and travelling is just one key to unlocking that potential. In going from one place to another, my skewed view of life, or at least that of mine, is slowly transforming before my very eyes.
My understanding of the world has become better. Through travelling, the doors of adventure have opened and like a shroud lifted, a mystical world has set before me, a mystical world that I want to explore. The world’s grandeur is more extensive than what I thought it was.
In my search of wonderful destinations, I have come across an extensive list of beautiful places that have piqued my curiosity and ignited a desire in me. I have become restless, the spirit of adventure wanting to get through me. But more than the adventure, it is the learning that is the most essential element in my travels.
My thirst for learning made me connect with the locals. I began to appreciate the cultures and beliefs of the places I’ve been to. One perfect example is the myth about the mystical lake of Coron I have heard from a local Cuyonin guide. His story filled me with awe and made me realize that the world is indeed filled with enigma that must be uncovered.
The world, through travelling, has truly spoken to me in a way that I never thought that it would. Every place I visited and every person I encountered in my travels have enriched me with knowledge and experience, tools that are essential in surviving my quotidian existence.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
My life was once filled with anxieties that kept me shackled to the ground, a ground I call my comfort zone. I never thought that I’d be able to step out of this comfort zone. I never thought that I’d be able to conquer my anxieties and fears. But travelling taught me how.
Travelling typically pushes you beyond the bounds of your comfort zone. It taught me to always take a leap of faith, just jump and plunge into the oblivion and uncertainties, just like in life. I never imagined that I’d be able to fly in a plane, travel solo, jump from a waterfall, and swim with giant whale sharks. But I did all that, and more.
The adrenaline rush that travelling gave me made me conquer a lot of obstacles, both within myself and outside of myself. It showed me that every stumbling block can be conquered with the proper attitude, including fears and anxieties. This positive attitude is something that I can also practice in real life.
The impact of travelling is undeniable. It is respite from the tedious realities of daily living. Beyond this, in travelling, I am becoming richer, probably not in pecuniary means, but in experience and wisdom. I have learned a lot, not just about the places I’ve visited and the people I’ve encountered, but also about myself. In learning more about myself, I have entered a stage of self-improvement and self-enrichment, which I surmise is what life is all about.
My proclivity to travel is borne out of the intentions of gaining treasures, both tangible and intangible that I will forever keep. I believe that every place in this world has something magical to offer and just waiting to be unlocked. But it is more than just these magical dusts that I will look forward to. Beyond the adventures and the places, what captivates me to travel are the the lessons that are waiting to be unlocked in every place I visit and in every person I encounter.
This post is my entry to Traveloka’s How Travel Changed My Life Blogger Contest
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The Pine-Scented Chronicles 