The Road Less Likely Traveled

Are you good with instructions? I have always been good at it to a point where I can follow things letter by letter or word per word. Memory work, perhaps?

However, when talking about directions, there goes my biggest problem! One time, I circled a not so big hotel two or three times without realizing I was going over the same place again and again. Maybe, this is a visual path or talent I never acquired. 

To me, the streets looked almost the same and similarly situated. Perhaps getting to Point A to Point B is actually a practical analogy – one I could have done in my younger days if I were a nonchalant gallivant.

Is destination, the ultimate goal? When you commute or ride a taxi especially in this traffic laden city, you have to know where your destination is before you embark on a journey. Why, because knowing your destination is the start.

Then maybe, perhaps you find ways and check jeepney lines or street signs or even ask a taxi to just make you get to your destination. The journey is better when you use Google map or maybe Waze? But what if you don’t have unlimited mobile data for that?

There are many ways to get to a destination. But sometimes, it is still how you enjoyed the long and bumpy ride that counts. Is this true for you too or is it just another worldly excuse for getting lost?

Sometimes, you also need to change course. However, it may cost you more money and time – something you can never get back. Such an irony – the rush for time.

As a mental health warrior, getting from Point A to Point B is a process – one that is often slow in a seemingly fast-paced world, a significant order of things and a jam-packed journey with diverse people. In short, it is a struggle that may be long and tiring but remember – never lose hope.

They say that time heals all wounds. But I think, you don’t heal from them at all. You move on carrying them with lessons from the past in order to make yourself better.

Many times, I have asked myself why I have not achieved what I dreamed of as a child (considering that I did have a few successes on my list) – that there were many detours and all. Then, I found out from people that it wasn’t only me who thrived to survive – others have struggles and their own stories too.

Maybe, we learn to take a moment of gratitude for all that we are and take off that negativity pool and the Impostor Syndrome clawing on us. Despite everything, we sure are lucky to have experienced the misadventures there is to life and the misfits that we are. After all, we are not perfect but are humans who are feeling and learning beings as Work-in-Progress catalysts.

Maybe, it pays to be kind in a world that is much lived by people who struggle and whom we often know nothing about. To lift each other up by a smile, a good word or some funny quote or video passing through your news feed. That’s why, Young Sheldon caught my eye lately!

In all these things, permit yourself to breathe in and breathe out or perhaps walk along one of Baguio’s scenic spots. Embrace being a tourist for a day in this walkable city that is changing fast. 

Permit yourself to go slow, pause and begin again. There is really no fast or slow pace when it is for your mental health and for your peace of mind.

The most important thing is to take one step at a time – even baby steps to a point and remember that you matter – many times. Don’t doubt yourself! You are strong!

Now, off to watching Netflix again! Back to my synched space for self-care, for tomorrow, the battle goes on again!

My story doesn’t end here and neither is yours! No point of comparison, really, only a point of relatability!