Just 18 days shy before I fly off and it is getting more and more nerve wreaking. Haven’t been updating here because I have been busy getting all my travel plans, overseas contacts and visa arrangements down. I have also been juggling a few jobs along the way to pump up my travel fund as much as possible. The tentative route has been planned only because I was lucky enough to have met a few amazing individuals, all of whom has helped connected me to people around the world, whether to stay or work with, so that I could map and extend my travel as much as possible.

It really helps to put the word out there about my plans, and through that, I’ve managed to crowd source a lot of the things that I need as well. Though I still have a long way to go, I know in this uncertainty lies the excitement of me being able to fully go through one day at a time.

I realized along the way that a lot of things are really out of our control, and the more we try to make sense of it all, the harder it is to cope. I’ve learnt to walk in faith and understand that the only preparation I really need is to fully embrace whatever that comes and be as ready as I can for the unexpected. I know it is easier said that done because we live in a world where seeing is believing, but it’s a challenge that I believe will really help me in my journey ahead. It will help me to be more humble, accepting and open-minded to everything around me.

It takes a greater courage to fully accepting things the way they are, instead of bending and distorting them to suit our needs. It is amazing to trust life to take the leash and let it guide you to wherever you are meant to be. To, as much as possible, feel and accept the nakedness of reality without the contamination of our own ideals and goals, which are unavoidably influenced by all the constructs of the society we are raised in. Constructs of which, are artificially made for us to feel a faux sense of “order”, “meaning” and “familiarity” in our lives. Not wrong, but not, in my opinion, authentic.

All in all, if I were to label the basket of lessons that I have learnt thus far, it would be learning how to truly let go. Not as in giving up, but in accepting and embracing . In the process of doing so, I have been reaping all the benefits. By opening myself to whatever that comes, both the good and the bad, I have allowed myself to experience the raw beauty of life, in all its wonder and awesomeness.

My journey of self discovery does not begin when I get into the plane 18 days from now. It has already begun when I made a very conscious decision to be truly happy. 🙂