Wanderlust

My heart has always longed to know the wonders beyond the world I know. As a child, I was a tomboy who loved nothing more than roaming around the streets like a cat in my earthquake flattened hometown. I was also a book worm. Books were my temporary escape into the faraway lands and stories. In those encounters I feel most alive to enjoy the adventure. So when my mum sat me down before high school entrance exam, “What do you want to do with your life?” She asked, “without hesitation” I said, “I want to be geologist or archaeologist. I want to travel to the ends of the earth and get paid for doing it.” It wasn’t what she expected to hear. She expected something more practical. After a long pause, tears welling up in her eyes, “I raise you only to lose you”. So a professional traveler as a career choice was denied. But the dream to wander never dies. 3 years later, freedom came. I chose university that is located in a land faraway. Since then, I have lived and worked in three continents, visited more than 50 countries from the highs of Tibetan Plateau to the low of WWII Japanese naval wreck 60 meter down under in Truck lagoon. My calling as traveler underpinned many of my life choices, consciously subconsciously. In everything I do, wonders guide me.

You ask, what is the magic of travel to you? Is it curiosity? Is it lust for adventure? Yes and no. For me, an itch could start with a book that sparked my imagination, or the questions that I have been asking myself and trying to answer, or a burning sensation to experience and expand myself and my reality. Reading makes one restless. Once you know there is a magnificent world out there, knowing wonder awaits around each corner, you have to say Yes. Saying yes to travel is saying yes to life, with expanded awareness.

So to me, the unknown is my driving force, as T.S Eliot puts it, “In order to arrive at what you do not know, you must go by a way which is a way of ignorance.” Each place is a dialogue between you (the stranger), the place and your quest (consciously or unconsciously). Those “aha!” moments when you discover an insight, a new lens to look at the world or the question that was posed unconsciously, in those moment, you are shattering the “glass walls” that you were not aware even existed. What remains with you are a set of principles that you internalize and add to your existing beliefs. The compilation allows us to lead life with more awareness. Nothing makes you understand more than traveling. That is where the magic is. A Chinese saying: it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read 10 thousand books.

So you ask what life as a traveler has taught you

Travel is not just a hobby to me. It is a way of being, a way of learning and expanding oneself, is a way of falling in love deeply with the world and a way of giving back.

In my travel, I learnt that discomfort and fear are my teacher and friend. I become a first-hand witness of how letting go of fear liberates my spirit. Whether it was jumping off the cliff of Maui, with a lot of encouragements and demonstrations from my husband or taking solo trip up and down Myanmar, doing what scares you, being the one that stands out from a crowd, moving forward despite pain. Knowing Once you come out from the other side, it is always worth it

Travel changed the lens through which I look at the world. I became less prone to black and white bias and more aware of the complexities and shades of gray. I felt more empathy towards people, understand and accept the point of views, which are completely foreign to my own. A conversation with Tibetan Buddhist holds as many lessons of creating harmonious relationship between human, animal and nature as a year of reading at home. An afternoon tea with Aung san suu kyi’s secretary revealed, contrary to common western belief, despite her altruism, the mdm deeply regretted the unintended consequences of inviting western sanctions which impoverished Myanmar people and enlivened junta.

As I experience different cultures, different ways of living and I am challenged to question my own cultural conditioning and assumptions. The more I experience, the more I understand. The more empathy and compassion I develop. Eventually, I come to realization that all these ways of living have their place in the world. If we move beyond judgment, we open our hearts to true understanding and connection.

I learnt human can break the nature, but our ingenuity can heal too. Take a trip to Raja Ampat west paupa, join the conservation efforts and learn how a small group of conversationists revived biodiversity of 300,000 acres of marine resevers from an old shark fin slaughter ground to a single football field sized patch of reef teeming with nearly 5 times the number of coral species as the entire Caribbean Sea.

Ultimately, I learnt to make more informed decisions while knowing our limitations of our brains and the subconscious.

Are you prepared for a journey of beauty, adventure, heartbreak and heartmelt? Come with me.

Related posts:

Brim World Elite Mastercard is a cashback virtual credit card offered by Brim Financial. It has exciting features and rewards that can enhance the experience of frequent travelers and keen shoppers…

Marilyn Flower writes political humor and satire to delight socially and spiritually conscious folks. She’s a regular columnist for the prison newsletter, Freedom Anywhere, where she writes about…

Skin irritation generally called skin breakout Vulgaris, is a somewhat long skin condition that happens when dead skin cells and oil from the skin deter hair follicles. Typical components of the…