Wander and Wonder!

The Holstee Manifesto

 I saw this picture as my collegue’s Liezl’s laptop wallpaper. I immediately fell in love with the simple words. Every word resonates a twentysomething’s yearning, a person seeking for his/her place under the sun. Who wouldn’t want to travel and learn more from the experiences? Who wouldn’t want to do the things they truly believe in? The things you are more passionate with? Not everyone is given a chance but most have fallen into the system, taking the conundrum and has forgotten about their dreams?

The world we live in right now demands us to have a higher paycheck, get a stable job, acquire luxurious things in order to be seen as ‘successful.’  Earn money first. Travelling, you can do later in life. Probably after you paid the mortgage. It could work for some. But for me, life is a series of adventure and doing something you are truly passionate with. When you love what you are doing, you are not working; you are living! J

When we were younger, we were thought to dream, to look at the stars and shoot for the moon. My Lola Luz taught me to explore beyond our baryo, to dream big beyond our city. My aunt, Mommy Suzette told me there is more beyond the places you are comfortable with. When you travel to the place for the first time (and you don’t know anyone from that place), you’re giddy, nervous and uncomfortable but you have to conquer that. You must keep that ‘giddiness’ of experiencing something new. It makes you alive, she added. 

With my Mommy Suzette, the ultimate traveler in the family.

 

We fear the unknown. We are afraid of taking risks that we opt to continue with the routine. Because it’s already a habit we had formed and it’s hard to break it. Get out of your comfort zone. How many times have we heard this? Getting out of the things we used to do and trying out of our established routine. It might not be something really huge, we can start gradually until we have seen a bigger picture- that something  more is out there. 

It is only by acknowledging and accepting the need, to take the big leap of faith. In order to go to new places, we have to accept that we don’t want to be in a place we are right now. Some are afraid if they will be doing it alone.

We always see pairs of people. What if something happened, we continually ask. Having a company is really great. Traveling for instance with a buddy or with a group is comforting. But traveling alone is a different experience!

When in group, you have to have an itinerary. You have to plan it out more. Or even with a buddy. When I travel, I tend to walk aimlessly. And whenever someone would like to join me, I have to warn him/her. I can go on walking and could not care less. I can go with no itinerary or specific areas to see. Some people can be uncomfortable without plans. After all, we were told to plan always, to be prepared and be ready. But getting lost in a journey and without a plan could be a plan after all! 

It is only by getting lost that you’ll find yourself. The Holstee manifesto said. And it’s only when you get lost that you’ll be able to see unexpected sights and meet people who’s willing to lend a hand to bring you back ‘on track’. And it's having no expectations that you'll see more the magic. Sitting alone, having the time with yourself- you'll learn more and see the world clearly.