The Long, Winding and Rough Road

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Awaken by the heat and humidity of Southeast Asian summer at 4AM, I went out of my room and got surrounded by the calming chants of the monks at the Buddhist temple near my temporary residence. The air was surprisingly colder outside compare to what I just suffered from inside the room. As my brain started to scramble at bad thoughts, complaints and things that I hate and frequently get anxious about, a flicker of positivity suddenly kicked in, waiting to be ignited and waiting to be nurtured.

I haven’t been blogging about my current state as I have tons of articles left from my trip in India and scheduled to be posted in the coming months. And consciously, I also try my best to keep this blog solely talking about travel, just plain travel.

But a part of me wants to share some things to you as I know that this is an important part of my journey as well.

Thing’s aren’t looking good in the past few months this year due to a number of circumstances. Got news recently that my uncle needs to go through a bypass surgery and the entire family is pooling some money for the needed operation. We all chipped in something that could help fund it and luckily on the second diagnosis, the doctor said that angioplasty instead of bypass surgery could possibly remove whatever is blocking his artery. Days later after they performed angioplasty, fortunately everything seems to be fine and there’ no need for him to undergo the bypass surgery anymore.

In the past few months as well, I’ve been focusing all my time building new websites which I hope would be possible additional sources of income. For some weird reasons, the income that this blog has been consistently generating since it started seems to be drying up fast. I was expecting it to happen though but not this year which maybe the reason why I felt like I was caught off-guard and unprepared.

With all these worries going on around my head, frustrations and anxieties kick in on a daily basis. I try my best to keep calm and stay focus on the solutions.

And in moments like this I realized how important it is to be surrounded by positive people who cheer you up and help you stay on track.

In moments like this I realized how important it is for me as well to pick myself up on every stumble down the road.

In moments like this I also realized on how crucial it is to have faith that everything will soon be fine.

If you’re floating on tons of worries like I am now, I’d like to share with you some stuff that I’m currently doing to keep myself afloat in this challenging time:

1. I consciously try not to slip in the dark hole of worrying, although it’s easier said than done. Whenever worries kick in, I try to think of happy moments that I’ve had. And once my brain is neutralized, then I start thinking about solutions.

2. I noticed that the more I think about the problem itself, the more it seems to be bigger and stronger so I’m switching my gears and focus more on the solutions. The more I think about solutions the more the problem becomes easier to tackle with.

3. This is the right time to stay connected with positive people who lift our spirits up. Emotional energy is contagious and it’s so easy to pass it around (same goes with negativity).

4. I also don’t want to be a source of negative energy so every time I feel really low and down, I pack some stuff and cycle around town until I feel a bit better.

5. Music helps a lot, listen to a lot of good, fun music. I never realized it until I noticed it helping me shape my mood for the day.

6. Sleep a lot and stay healthy. It’s easier to beat the problems if we’re healthy and sane.

7. Be a source of positivity, everyone goes thru tough times.

Threading on Faith.

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