I was asked over dinner how one's travels changes someone.Where do I even begin?
In short, travelling and seeing the world bears a tremendous impact on oneself. In the introduction to this Blog, I indicated what the Prophet said of our human condition: that we should be in this life as though a stranger or a traveller. Our existence in itself is a journey which we partake - it may be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, intellectual - in all its forms. Some of us are conscious of this, whilst some are not. We are never static, and as far as this is our condition, we are always on a journey.
Even when I was young, I imagined to 'travel' in the romantic literary England where man wear tophats and longtail coats, and women walk along the streets with their colourful hats and long gowns - and where people speak in such poetic language. I have even 'travelled' to the centre of the world and around the world indeed, in 80 days. I was also 'involved' in the battle of the middle earth and 'saw' the splendid wonder works of magicians. Alas, that 'world' was derived from the books which I read.
When I grew up, I physically make some of that journey - or following my last entry, that pilgrimage to see for myself the reality of my imagination and the world as it really is.
At times, we think that we know it all. But we do not if we do not see the world. Travelling across God's land is also something which God encourages us to do - and by doing so, we begin to see the greatness of His Creation through the multitute of diversities in which He creates. Every step we take in a different land and place, every breath we breathe in this huge expanse of God's land, every person whom we meet in our lives who touched it or scratched it - all these experiences make us what we eventually are and mould us. The more we undertake such journeys, the richer we become. The more perspectives we learn, the more merciful and forgiving we become. The more experiences we go through, the faster we become what we are destined to be. The more we have of this, the more humane we become.
There is no doubt, travelling and savouring experiences is a facet of being alive. We need counsciousness to gain its benefits.
3 comments:
That's correct hoopoe. But ongkosnya juga harus ada dong kalau mau travel. So far, Singapore-KL, KL-Singapore, Singapore-Benut, Benut-Singapore...itu sajalah yang termampu buat diri ini.
Can't wait to go Cambodia.
Agreed. As the director in "Road to Mecca" said, you have to see it to believe it. Whilst one may get some of the "fragrance" from reading a book or watching a film, the only way to really get a "taste" of things is to actually experience it oneself.
Travelling exposes one to "barakah" which one would not otherwise have gotten if one remained at home.
if one cannot afford a physical journey, then the mind must not stop travelling, and understanding
Post a Comment