Reflection

Apologies for the late update! I returned from Asia right before spring started. I wrote the following little reflection in the airplane...

Sad to leave Asia and happy to return to America. I hope to come back again soon. I'm very grateful to be Californian, to have a strong education, to know and appreciate diversity of culture and ideas, to feel boundless love from friends and family. Life is short and the world is vast, both beautiful beyond imagination. A universal truth is that nothing lasts forever, thus every hello has its farewell. Sadness is part of the joy of life as much as happiness.

I met many amazing people along the way, locals and travelers alike. Inevitably, many will forget me. I'm sad to say that I will forget some people as well. Social media can only do so much to visualize the threads of fate which connect our destinies. In my heart, I know that I will meet many of these people again, either by planning or by chance. If it's meant to be, it will happen. This, I believe, is another universal truth. The world and its residents teach me so much, enriching my experience with sights, sounds, sensations and feelings that linger in the heart if not in the brain.

Three songs encompass my sentiments at the end of this journey. First, "In My Life" by the Beatles. "All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I've loved them all." So sentimental! Second, "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees. Hearing it performed many times at Moment's Notice, it grew on me until I found myself singing it everywhere with slightly modified lyrics. "How deep is your love? I really need to know. We're living in a world of fools bringing us down when they all should let us be." My love is the Pacific, deep as the Mariana Trench, vast enough to spend a lifetime exploring, yet welcoming to anyone who wants to dip their feet at its shores.

Third," Hohoemi no Bakudan," the theme song to the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. This is special to me because as I learn its meaning I feel many emotions. The English lyrics are pretty faithful and easy to understand. The longing for friendship in a faceless city crowd, the isolation of wandering through the countryside. "It's time to challenge myself, do something new, I want to stop... And grow up a bit. And suddenly, my power and confidence start swelling up... Because of the kindness that I feel from people I don't even know. And suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow... I sense compassion is real thanks to strangers wherever I go." I prefer the original Japanese lyrics if only for a lyrical inversion. Translated it goes something like..."Why does the gushing of courage and power unexpectedly smash the tortuous wall? Maybe it's because of the unexpected times when difficult people give me kindness... Why does the gushing of courage and power unexpectedly surpass the saddest times? Maybe it's because of the unexpected times when kind people give me difficulty... I'll never forget these fun times and I'll never lose this courage and power. In the face of loneliness, my smile is a bomb!" In both languages, this song holds true.

Fitting that most of this adventure I spent in Thailand, the land of smiles. It's a minefield of smiles bombs! Vietnam is nice as well, and I only realized this after getting out of Hanoi and after Tet. I'd say the same for Laos, which is perhaps the least developed of the three, but just as amazing. My short jaunt to Korea was hilarious, and thankfully I made some great friends whom I will happily visit in the future. The finale was a stop in Tokyo, short enough to leave me longing for more. What a wild ride!

The world outside is a reflection of the self internal. By leaving home and seeing different parts of the world, I enrich myself. I feel better prepared for what life throws at me.

Live and Love
Listen and Learn
Laugh