My Kind of Weekend

Last weekend was one of my favorite kinds of weekends. It’s been a bit surprising if I’m being honest. It hasn’t been a busy one but it felt like a lot went on for me. I couldn’t help but feel proud of how I’m able to do things for myself nowadays. I haven’t been this so independent before. Simple things such as cooking my own home-made dinner, doing groceries, budgeting my monthly expenses and learning how to use an automatic washing machine make me feel like a bad-ass woman! Haha 🙂 It sounds silly but it really makes me feel proud how I’ve been able to get through each day. My mama would be really proud too! 😉

There are still so many things I need to learn as I continue to live an independent life – I realize that every day. I can’t believe I’ve been in Dubai for almost a year now. To be honest, it has not been perfect. It has not been exactly what I thought and wish it would be but hey, I survived! I kept on saying that it hasn’t been a smooth ride kasi hindi naman talaga. Whenever I do a quick catch up (online) with close friends from Manila, they would always give one common comment and that is “Pang-movie talaga ang buhay mo Shyne!” At some extent, they’re kind of right.But aren’t we all part of that movie called life? In a span of one year, I’ve had my share of drama, action, suspense and of course love story. (Ano pa nga ba?!?) 🙂 But I don’t want to give people the impression of an orchestrated life I have here. I’m certainly not even half way towards the achievement of my dreams in this foreign country. As a matter of fact, I’m just getting started in here. Warm-up pa lang yung first year and again, it’s okay. God has been good to me – constantly guiding me along the way and giving me a lot of opportunities. I know that He has been preparing me because He has the most beautiful plan for my life. I learned to trust that the Lord put us in some situations for a reason.

What is it that making me all so “full of positivity” right at this moment? I don’t know. Maybe, it’s the boiled egg and crackers for lunch or the fact that work is over in 2 hours. (We only have to work for 6 hours because it’s Ramadan!) Yeah!!! Maybe because it’s finally July and I’m excited about it. Some things have to end to give way to a new beginning. Also thanks to Jennifer Lopez’s new song “Back it Up’, I’m in high spirits lately.

Or maybe, it must be the effect of running every day. I’m on my second week now! (Ahemm!) That’s probably the reason why my happy cells are dancing. Here’s my little take away from the weekend that was.

Since I was in my “everything-will-be-okay” mood last weekend, I decided to exceed my 30 minutes limit. By now, I’ve already learned the right pacing. Run moderately for the first few minutes and focus on my breathing. Take it slow and then go faster as time goes by. I promised to be kinder to myself so I made sure to run at a speed that worked for me. I changed my path too. It was a bit windy that day so instead of running from Street 8 to Street 13, I did the opposite. I ran towards the direction of Street 8 where it felt like I was running with the wind. Instead of going against it, I ran with it. The technique worked for me. I got excited. Suddenly, I felt too eager to reach my destination so I ran faster and faster. In other words, I got carried away! I forgot about the correct pacing and breathing. I forced it. That’s when something went wrong. I felt a sudden pain. I felt my legs hurt and I was panting. Yet I ignored it. I kept going. I told myself, “You want this so bad. Try harder. There’s still something that you can do. You’ve gone this far babe.” It was hard at that moment. What happened to just enjoying it? My body was pleading me to stop not because it couldn’t run anymore but because I’ve already done what I have to. I have given all that I have. Yet my stubborn mind was telling me to run further until I exceeded my limit. But sometimes, there’s only so much that we can do. I was aiming to run for at least 45 minutes that day but was able to complete 35 minutes of continuous run instead. It was painful and I was almost out of breath – I had to stop. When I calmed down, I gave myself a genuine pat on the back. I realized, hey that wasn’t so bad! At least, I was progressing. 🙂

Same with life, we tend to rush things. We become impatient. We get too excited so we force things to happen. We forget to enjoy it so it makes us sad when things don’t go our way. It hurts us. Don’t push yourself to anyone or anything because that pushes your destiny away. You know what I discovered? In order not to feel and endure the pain in your legs when you’re running too fast – listen (I mean really listen) to the music playing in your ear. (It helps to have a really good playlist!) Just enjoy it. Take the lyrics in and run as if you’re dancing. (If that even makes sense) 🙂 Slow down until you regain your energy…until you’re ready to move forward.

Life is not really a race. For me, it’s not a matter of who’s running ahead of the others, who’s leading or who’s winning. We all have the right to run at our own pace. There will always be someone faster than us. Just be true to yourself and to the people around you. Get real. That’s the best feeling in the world. It’s okay to admit that you fail at one point but it’s more okay when you own up to this failure and found a way to start again. You will definitely get better in time. It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to trip or stumble or fall. When that happens, just get back up and keep going.

I have always been guilty of rushing things to happen. I wanted things to happen based on the ideal story I’ve written in my head. (Eh writer kasi, pasensya na!) 🙂 I had my share of being impatient too and it didn’t really turn out well for me. I made this mistake over and over, until I learned to focus on the bigger picture. Right now, I consider myself as a work in progress which means that I will get there a little at a time, not all at once.

Be kind to yourself in this moment, no matter what’s happening. No matter if you’re not where you think you should be in your life, body, relationship or career. How can you expect to get anywhere when you have someone constantly cutting you down? Be your own cheerleader and best friend, you could use it.

I’m beginning to appreciate my life in Dubai and that is a good sign. Last weekend was indeed my kind of weekend. I’m praying and wishing for more days and weekends just like that – ordinary ones that feel special. 🙂