Over the year-end, my children and grandchildren were here from wherever they live, work, or study.
While here, even having homes of their own, where better to hang out together than at mom’s? Which then goes without saying, results in bedlam and piled up clothes and dishes, which, thanks to the Powers-that-be, we, in blessed Bangkok, have house staff who patiently bear with us.
Then, as the holidays drew to an end, they, one-by-one, dispersed and headed back to their respective destinations, also bringing to an end the heartwarming days of seeing them survive in the same room in today’s world of strife and competition.
For them, it was just another trip, like many they’d taken before, whether to visit us here, or elsewhere to sightsee, or to visit friends and relatives.
Much like the vacations we’ve taken or will take, which kick off with zooming in on the destination, requiring detailed planning to fit the trip into specific dates and budget.
Also, the mode of travel and the bookings thereof, and more importantly, suitable accommodation at the proposed stopovers, and the activities or things we’d like to do and see once there, and of course, the specifics of the return journey.
Now, it matters not whether the intended trip is to a far-off exotic locale or just a few hours’ drive in Thailand itself, the nitty-gritties are much the same, as is the buildup of the excitement, nearer to the trip, and absolutely peaking when bags are packed and we’re on our way.
The journey, to wherever it might have been, and the so-called destinations we reached, were in truth just places we visited, and sooner than later, we’ll return to the starting point, wherever that may be, and where, waiting for us, would be whatever problems or situations we’d left behind.
We might have come back from the most enjoyable and perfect holiday possible, but as soon as we get back, at least for me, there’s a post-honeymoon type deflation.
Nothing changed, nothing went away.
It was just another trip, another journey; not the end of the road, much like life.
Life, too, is nothing more than a sojourn; one that started with the first inhale we took upon leaving our mother’s womb, and will summarise at that last exhale; a journey that’ll last as long as it does.
We’ve misinterpreted the goals and achievements we frantically chased in between these breaths as a destination of sorts, whether it be finishing college, earning a top-notch salary, owning a Rolls Royce, or marrying the most eligible single person and then going on to have Einstein kids; even winning a Nobel Prize, though noteworthy, they aren’t destinations, only necessary guideposts.
Neither they nor the very many milestones we’ve crossed will take us to a static end point or finish line; the ultimate destination.
Because life was never about somewhere to go; some destination, some finish line to reach.
It was and is but a road we walk on individually, sometimes on paths running parallel with some folk, up until we each veer off into diverse directions, or someone or other drops off by the wayside, while we continue and cross paths with many more.
There isn’t a first, second, or ‘loser-place’ waiting on the other side at the culmination of the journey that you and I call life.
We are each, but a minuscule part of the grand scale play, a LEELA, staged by the puppeteer across the expanse of the universe and way beyond, which will continue as long as He so wills.
Subsequently, let’s stop chasing the mirage called destination, and walk the walk while embracing the profound ordinariness of daily life, slow down and, with joyful awareness, smell the roses; gasp at the splendour of a rising sun; wonder at the grandeur of the night sky with myriads of stars twinkling from way, way beyond our little blue planet.