Windows of Unfamiliar Landscape |
The Familiar Landscape
Spectator: Dchee
The clock of holiday is ticking away once again. With competitive price slashing in the airlines industry, intercontinental travel is made easier in the recent years. It is no longer a dream for one to have breakfast in one country, lunch and dinner in another country.
Some say travel is therapeutic. Which is why going abroad alone can mean a lot for a person when it comes to understanding oneself. Let's be honest, it is about going to the airport alone, sitting next to a stranger, finding the way to your hotel, grab the breakfast alone and occasional chit-chat to strangers; things that you would not have done in your everyday routine.
To be in a foreign land, sometimes in a totally unfamiliar society, makes one listen closer to his/her thoughts. When the world seems indifferent to your existence, it is no surprising that you would become your own best friend, telling yourself the next best decision to make for it to be called a day. I suppose the meaning of a day is beautifully calibrated that way.
Looking out from the unfamiliar window on surprisingly painting-like landscape, the thought of blissfulness emerged out of the totally relaxed mind; you guiltily imagined the whereabouts of stress and worries you used to have back in the hustle-bustle city. You chuckled, acknowledged that those are part of the mechanics in the unknown realm of life.
It was lunch time, you grabbed a quick bite at the nearby stall which has quirky food that drove your curiosity. You took out the city map, going through marked locations that interest you and made your way there. Deep down inside you understood that artistry is perhaps not your cup of tea, but being miles across your hometown made you feel that your time was meaningfully justified. So you went on with the thrill, letting the senses absorbed in an unrestrained fashion.
Watching the sunset closes another therapeutic chapter in your travel log. Seeing the expected busy night life you began to relate back to your hometown, good or bad. You knew it was another lonely night spent in an exotic corner of the world that you thought you knew. Talking to your monologue, thoughts surfaced once again with much recollection of the past and you probed harder to fathom the purpose of tomorrow.
There after, you plunged into another slumber therapy.
I guess, the hype of travelling is all about being alone in an unfamiliar landscape. To truly uncover oneself, internalize the monologue that arises, discover the familiar landscape in the yet unfamiliar world.