I’ve
travelled a lot for the past month. I went to Club Balai Isabel Batangas,
Nagsasa-Anawangin Zambales, Sta Victoria Ilagan, Iba Zambales, and Palaui-Sta
Ana Cagayan. I don’t know your standard, but for me that’s a lot just for a
month. Some of you may be wondering if I’m really that guy because I was a very
introvert man. For almost two decades, if people wanted to see me, they may not
need an email, a facebook or a cellphone to know where I am. All they need is
their loud golden voice to shout and call my name in front of our gate:
Kevinnn!! …because we don’t have a buzzer.
In
today’s layman’s language,”kumota na ako” (I’ve reached my quota). And it
taught me 256 lessons of life that I’m going to share with you.
Okay,
I heard you.
I’ll just drop it to 5 lessons of how my pursuit of happiness, how appreciating, adoring and enjoying life has led me to find the love of my life.
1. Relationships
Come and Go on the Road
In my Nagsasa-Anawangin trip, I was
with total, completely, undeniably strangers. The only person I truly know was
my cousin. Actually, it was my cousin’s group of friend’s way back in college. The
place doesn’t have an electricity or network signal so we don’t have a choice
but to talk, laugh, cook our own food, discover the place, stargaze and laugh
more.
I friend them (thanks to facebook,
friend is now a verb). Because of the activities we shared, it was easy for us
to become friends.
However, according to Matthew Kepnes,
the nature of travel doesn’t always lend itself to long-term relationships. It’s
hard to make something last when everyone moves in different directions. But
I’ve realized you need to simply enjoy your time together and live in the
moment.
2. But
Chase the One You Like
Yet once in a while, you’ll find
someone you really connect with. And when you have nowhere to be and no place
to go other than where you want, sometimes there is no reason not to follow.
I was in awe by the beauty of nature
in Nagsasa. But I couldn’t help my admiration and wonderment to this woman whose
smile can melt a cone of ice cream even during winter.
She’s simply beautiful and her
sweetness triggered a bulb lit above my head. And an idea popped out, “I want
to know her more!”
She invited me to attend her sister’s
wedding a few weeks later after that Nagsasa trip. It was a wonderful opportunity
for me to get to know her more and her family.
3. People
are Good
Next trip: Iba, Zambales.
She’s from Iba. And the wedding was
held at their hometown. Gosh, I was going to meet her parents. There was this
movie I watched where the guy was introduced to the gal’s parents and he
experienced like he was eaten alive. Whew!
My story was different. They were very
accommodating and fun to be with.
4. God
Knows Best
I asked her to have a summer vacation
with me in Sta Ana, Cagayan.
All things were set. We left Manila, Friday
at 2pm. We were supposed to arrive Saturday around 1am in Isabela, my hometown,
and get the car to drive to Sta Ana for 4 hours. It’s really nice to see the
sunrise at the beach.
But something happened. A trailer
truck turned upside down and blocked the road leaving the cars and buses no
choice but to wait for the response team to clear the area. It took us 10 hours
before we were able to pass through.
We know that this is an uncontrollable
event. Instead of grumbling and complaining why it happened, it gave us more
time to talk, bond and laugh together with other bus passengers. People often
say, “Enjoy the journey.”
More bumps in the road and unexpected surprises
occurred. And that’s what made it so exciting.
I don’t know why such delay, but I thank
God for it. Maybe He is preventing us from danger or He just wants us to feel
and say, “The trip was worth it.”
He knows Best!
5. You
have to Let Go of Where You Were to Get Where You Can Be
We arrived at Nangaramoan beach, Sta
Ana, Saturday around 9pm. Since the trip was long and tiring, we stargazed a
bit and went to sleep.
Sunday morning, it was sunrise at the
beach.
But as much as we want to enjoy the
beach, we’re really after the island: Palaui Island.
So we had to leave for almost an hour
boat ride to the island.
Whoallah! The view was spectacular!
Whoallah! The view was spectacular!
What am I saying?
You have to let go of where you are to
get where you want to be.
It’s fun being single. I’ve been
enjoying it for the past 23 years. But the moment she said yes to my proposal
(as her boyfriend), it’s rapture.
Joy.
Bliss.
Euphoric.
It is God bearing fruit to a dream He has
planted into my heart.
But it didn’t happen with just a snap
of a finger. I had to do things I’ve
never done before.
To go out and live life to the full.
To enjoy life.
And to trust God that His Will and His
Timing is better than ours.
Friends, go out there!
See what’s in store for you.
Enjoy life!
If you're single, who knows? You might find your one true love.
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| Cape Engano |
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| Jump shot at Palaui Island |
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Nangaramoan Beach |
