Swimming Closer To You

The best thing about traveling is that it gives you perspective. When you're on a little speedboat, with miles and miles of sea embracing you on all sides, and gigantic limestone cliffs loom up ahead, and the sky is flung wide open above you, well, it's a splendid reminder that not everything is about you. You are not the center of the universe. There is something bigger and infinitely more to your life than your problems.

And just like that, all the cares that have hovered in your head just magically melt away.

I was lucky enough to be yanked out of my sadness just a couple of years back. You know how, in the movies, when the main character is depressed or in turmoil, they just throw everything away for a trip far, far away?

I was blessed enough to be whisked away to Palawan, at the very time when I needed it most. And with my best friend, no less.

At first, I remember whining and complaining to Mia about the stupidest things, focusing yet again on myself, even though I was surrounded by such stunning scenery. I remember being so hung up with thoughts of the "dirty, numb angel boy," that all I wanted to do was sleep in the cottage, even as the day beckoned in all its glory.

But then I remember, the exact, precise moment, when everything just became OK. It started with the the short visit to the old Fort that fronted the sea. We were in the group that included Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, and this Japanese businessman who was interested in investing money to upgrade the Palawan airport.

Mia and I were laughing our heads off imagining that we'd try to impress the Jap dude with the little Nippongo we had learned in college.

"Shinbun desu ne?" (That's a newspaper, isn't it?)

or
"Neko desu wa?" (Is that a cat?)

"Iiye, enpitsu desu." (No, it's a pencil.)

Anyway, we finally boarded a double-deck boat back to the resort. We were sitting at the top seats, cocktails were being served, people were making small talk.

Mia and I we were in one corner, analyzing our troubled situations for the 657th time -- trying to make sense of why our lives were such a mess.

And then the sun began to set -- a blaze of orange, and red and all these brilliant crimson colors. The wind whipped our hair. The sea stretched for miles on end. We took a sip of the ice cold beer in our hands. And it was Just. So. Beautiful.

Like beautiful that it will take your breath away. So beautiful that you want to cry because you had no idea that anything could be that perfect.

And just like that. All our cares evaporated.

"Ok na 'to. Wala naman palang problema eh."

Hahaha.

That being said, Lord, I think I need to go away again.

Thank God sembreak is a couple of weeks away.


Time to hit the beach.