Long Rides

*Re-post from deleted Tumblr blog. on Feb 1, 2013

Sometimes Most of the time it’s not the destination, but the journey itself.”

I don’t know a lot of people who would appreciate a long, hot, and windy ride in a bus.

When we think about traveling, the point is reaching the destination and doing all sorts of things you need to do—be it work or leisure. A destination holds a beautiful spot, an endless thread of activities, familiar faces, or people you would only meet the first time. A destination is a treasure in itself, but it means the end of something too.

I love arriving at an exciting destination (though I don’t get to travel that much), but I like long, smooth and sometimes bumpy ride too. Be it in the highway or a dusty dirt road. Rain or shine. With people I like or alone.

When I was in college I used to ride an old bus traveling to San Mateo-Ayala and vice versa. I would patiently wait for the brown bus in San Mateo going to my school in Manila and find a lonesome seat by the window. I didn’t own an mp3 back then and my only amusement is either drowning myself with the things I pass by or day dreams. Riding back then was a time for me to think. Think about my future and my past, and present too. It was the time for me to formulate plots on plans about urgent things I need to face which was mostly about finances and studies. It was a time for me to forget too, and just sew story about myself in some distant future without all the worries on my back. When I used to travel alone in a lonely bus, I’d cry when I needed to, likewise I pray.

It was liberating. But when I get nearer our house, it was a slow retreat for me to go back to my cage and forget about fictional sojourns. Of love stories that didn’t happen. And what could it have been after college.

I still love long rides now, but some things have changed. My journey is not only from home to school or vice versa. Also, not only a new place I needed to go to for a school project. Sometimes I need to tread an endless highway to face a job assignment. I may go on a journey too for leisure and vacation. Things have become more exciting and challenging. Still for me, there is sheer joy on passing by places I may never set my foot on.

An anticipation of what would come next. A journey in itself is life. And maybe, it’s a preparation too for a more important role we need to play in the universe.