Six months down, six to go!

There’s something about today.

There’s something about the way the clouds move.  The way the horizon shows itself off.

There’s something about the way the waves roll as they hit our boat. It sounds like a song without lyrics.

There’s something about the beautiful rock formations around us. It seems as if they were looking after us as we cross the clear blue Pacific Ocean.

Today is a beautiful day. Then I realize that it’s June 30.

I can’t believe that 6 months had passed and the 1^st half of the year is over. Where has the time gone? What happened?

Time flew by so fast that the first 6 months seemed like it was just yesterday. For me, this year feels like reading a really good book. I started with no expectations. I started with Chapter 1 then Chapter 2 and continued to Chapter 3 until I couldn’t put it down anymore. The pages just keep on turning. The stories keep on unfolding. The only difference is that I’m not just reading them, I’m living them.

Looking back, I can say that it has been an eventful past 6 months for me. Some of it is magic, while some of it is a bit tragic. Nevertheless, I’d like to think it’s been a pretty good run so far.

I got promoted. Went on an epic motorcycle road trip and traveled the most part of the Northern Philippines. I put myself out there. I took some risks and showed up.  A lot of what happened next was unexpected. Life really has a way of surprising us.

It hasn’t been perfect. Along with the good times and countless laughter, there has been some tears and heartbreaks too. There’s both triumphs and disappointments. It’s a combination of good and bad; happy and sad. And I’ve come to learn to be okay with that because life can never be perfect.

Sometimes, our plans don’t go as expected and our timelines must be adjusted.

Sometimes, things don’t work out as we wish they would.

But, the beauty with life’s imperfections is that we learn how to appreciate the good moments while we still can. We learn to value the people we love and care about while they are still around because you can never turn back time.

The present is all we have for now.  Sometimes, we get so busy chasing the extraordinary moments that we don’t pay attention to the ordinary ones – the moments that if taken away, we’d miss more than anything. It’s so easy to get distracted and focus on going after the big things that we don’t have yet, thinking that achieving or getting them will finally make us happy.

Truth is, we can be happy now.

Just show up. Every single time. Show up and be surprised.

In my experience, the spontaneous decisions to just show up even if I’m scared or unsure always make the difference. I conquered my fear of heights and motorcycle by showing up that day and putting on a brave face as we ride through high mountains and cliffs. I got to write about my travels now and be paid for it by showing up and passing my first draft.

You will never really know unless you try. You’ll never know how by simply showing up in that coffee shop can turn things around. It’s in those little random moments when the unexpected happens. It’s in those “let’s do this” moments when some of the best memories are created.

I’d like to think that there’s always something to be happy or thankful for. Always.

Even the bad days have something to teach us. The rainy days remind us that after the storm, the sun will shine again.

Life may be unpredictable but that’s what makes it interesting. It gives us something to look forward to. It tells us that the best things are yet to come. It gives us something to wake up to every single day.

There’s something about today.

Something about the way the horizons cleared up after the rain. Something about the way the sun and the sea meet in the middle as the sun sets right in front of me.

It’s a reminder that as today ends, the second half of the year begins tomorrow, and everything will be okay. 😊

 

 

My Coffee Has Gone Cold

“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting so.. Get on your way! – Dr Seuss

I arrived in the office 30 minutes past eight today – pretty late than usual. I still arrived ahead of anyone else anyway.  I did my normal routine – turned on my computer, checked my emails and decided to have my morning coffee…

While waiting for the water to boil in the kettle, I looked outside the window of the office, taking in the view of Jumeirah Island and the clusters of skyscrapers in Jumeirah Lake Towers. It was quite a sight to behold especially on a day like this…

 8:30 am morning view

Lost in my thoughts, I heard the pleasant ping from the kettle. I simply fill my cup with water and made my first coffee for the day. Ah, the smell! It’s almost more than enough to lift up my soul. I went back to that same spot beside the window and watched the morning rush outside. Everything seemed scripted – the driver finding a spot in the parking lot, the British men in suits crossing the street in front of Bonnington Hotel and even the sight of the fast metro in motion from afar.

I came across a post from one of my favorite blogger Patty Laurel a couple of days ago where she talked about the irony of “good-bad” days in life. It was so timely. I have been having more and more of these “good-bad” days lately – where you feel like riding in a roller coaster of happy and sad state of being. That kind of day when you wake up feeling “oh it will be a great day today!” and then suddenly you find yourself staring outside the window of your office, not noticing that your coffee has gone cold. Oh yes, I forgot about my coffee! I didn’t realize how long I’ve been staring outside the window. 5? 10 minutes? And then my colleagues started coming in…

I reheated my cup of coffee and settled myself in front of my computer. I stared at the blinking cursor and started to write. Type, delete..type again, delete again. Today was definitely one of those days, I told myself. I was writing an interview piece for one of our clients and I couldn’t even think of a synonym for the word “transcend”. I had already been rewriting answers to each question for almost an hour until I remembered that I haven’t drank my coffee and it had gone cold again!

Should I still drink it? I had to! So, I reheated it one more time. I decided to stop what I was doing. Once is enough, twice is too much. So this time, I sat down and took the time to drink my coffee. I neither look outside the window nor started thinking of synonyms and what not – I simply sat there and finished it. Surprisingly, it made me feel a bit better…

In life, it’s so easy to get caught up with all the stuff that’s going on around us. It’s so overwhelming! One moment, you feel extremely positive. But just when you thought that the universe is finally at your side, something bad happens that make you ask “Why is this happening to me?”.. When we feel happy, we feel like it will never end but when we feel sad, we have lots of regrets. Isn’t that so true? Life abroad is not perfect and it doesn’t have to. Saying “I’m living or working abroad” sounds like music to the ear but in reality, it can get out of tune at times too. While it’s true that you should try your best to make the most out of it, hard times are inevitable. It’s okay if things aren’t going exactly as you wish it to be. You can do something about it! (Thinking out loud here..) Easier said than done but you have to confront it, you got to do what you got to do.

I’m not sure how many more “good-bad” days are coming my way. If all I have to do is close my eyes and wish for good days ahead, I wouldn’t waste a single second to do so. But life isn’t made that way. Without bad days, how would we be able to know what a good day is like? Repeat after me: “Oh well, tomorrow is another day!”

Today had been just another of those “good-bad” days that I’m glad had passed – one that made me stop and ponder after my coffee has gone cold.

6:30 pm night time view from the 32nd floor