Towards the End

It all started last March 21, 2013. Thinking of it now makes me realize how time passed by so swiftly, enriching my life with so many stories and experiences.

When I planned the Nomad Enroute, living on the road for a year, I was supposed to be in the outskirts of some unknown village in the Philippines... volunteering... as the culmination of my trip. I even had my return ticket booked from Manila to Auckland. That was the plan.

But you see, things doesn't always go as planned. A detour was granted and I acknowledged its presence, willingly giving in to the opportunity that presented itself.

I instead chose to grab  a 6-month assignment in Melbourne, a city that almost everyone raved about, a city that everyone said I'd like and learn to love, a city that "might be" my settling ground.

And so there I went. I do admit that the city is charming, lavished with vibrance of arts and music, designed with tram lines and flowing waters, flowered with numerous opportunities and enriched with the diversity of cultures.

I liked it. and towards the end I learned to love it.... perhaps part of it was because of the people I met who I wished I've met earlier on and not when I was leaving. The irony of life. However, isn't it that people become nicer when someone's leaving? Appreciation is the key. and I dearly wished that Love would have made me stay. But as it always goes for me, there wasn't enough convincing... nothing to get me grounded.

Through the months that I've been away I've learned a lot in terms of acceptance, expectations, hopes and letting go. and of course, there's a lot to do with the saying "Everything Happens For a Reason". I hold on to that everyday.

I am towards the End of this Nomad Enroute Trip. I'm back in Auckland and in a few days will be back in the Philippines to do what I was meant to do, to fulfill the mission I was supposed to and to give back to the community as I've been so blessed that I could do those months of traveling.

This will be my way of paying it forward, of showing gratitude......

I'll be in Tacloban, Leyte where the typhoon Haiyan struck last November 2013. My mission is to do as much as I could to help. I expect frustration, as it is always the case regardless if it's a first or third world country, much worse maybe this time... my basis established from feedback of recent volunteers. But then, i'll just focus on the goal .. to help and to share.

I don't know how I'll go after Nomad Enroute. A lot of people tell me to stand still, to plant roots and stay in one place. I thought I'd feel the urge to do so after the trip. I've been proven wrong by no other but myself. I don't know. Maybe this feeling will change in a few months.

I guess at the End of the Day, do what makes you happy....... life is too short. Live the Dream without forgetting to let the people you hold dear know that you love them.

Towards the End, it's genuine Love that truly Matters.