Thursday, 07 August 2008
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HK Abroad: The Journey
Before the great Buddha became his form that we know of him today, he was much like the rest of us, not in the sense that he toted a laptop computer and wondered what he was going to major in, but that he was young, selfish and didn't understand what life was truly about. He after all, had all that he wanted, being in a rich family, and was not presented the truth of life when he finally wandered out of the palace, only to set foot and see what he thought was the unthinkable: a poor beggar.
A similar tale begs a similar fate in the story of Aladdin. While we are sucked into the cuteness of Apu and the novelty of the genie and his powers, we seem to forget the tale of reality rears its ugly head in this story as well. Much like the aforementioned Buddha, Jasmine lives a wonderfully cozy life, complimented with lions in the courtyard and a father who hopes her for the best. It is not until she wanders out onto the street and watches Aladdin pull off one of his stunts where she finally learns that life isn't the same outside of the palace.
When young Bruce Wayne falls into the well and breaks some bones during a mad dash from his sister, his father asks: “Bruce, why do we fall?” The answer: So we can pick ourselves back up.” In his future endeavors as Batman, Bruce would do much falling, and he would do much picking up as well as he tries to save Gotham City from the crimes that plague its city.
Where one story became religion, another becomes a superhero story, and another became a Disney classic lumped together with adventure and a love story, all tell the same story of an individual who wanders out of their cocoon and got more than they bargained for. All tales follow a coming-of-age moment, where one finally realizes that there is a society outside of the comfort of parents, and there is more to the world than meets the eye. All tales follow the journey of growing up, growing older, overcoming adversity, and becoming wiser.
As children of parents, well of or not, we are no different. All of us begin life on the same innocent path, and as we are introduced and influenced by many factors, our innocence slowly strips away. We can dream about the green grassy fields that Don Henly sings about, or yearn for yesterday like the Beatles do, but our only path is the one in front of us, branching into many paths, leaving us confused, bewildered, overwhelmed, and scrambling for cover. We get our first big taste of this going away to college, experiencing life on our own, getting through the drunken nights, marathon study sessions and late night conversations that bring bloom to an entirely new identity. And so with these experiences, we become more enlightened like Buddha, and like Jasmine, we see that not everything comes so easily, as it once did. And like the both of them, we enter our own journeys, armed with our own tools, and ready to get stronger.
I've always thought that we lived life to dodge its many curve balls. Very rarely are we thrown fastballs down the middle – if life were an easy home run hack, there would be no point, at least in my estimation. We always hope for the free run, or lunch, if you will. But alas, there is no such thing: That free slurpee you just drank? Or perhaps the free Ben and Jerry's Cone? Someone had to pay for that, even if you didn't have to.
My own journey on the other hand, is one for the making. With every passing moment, and subsequent reflection, the approaching of study abroad only deepens my thinking for the journey I will experience there. I find myself ever more anxious by the day, and I do wonder what is becoming me. Yes, its only 130 or so days, but what can't kill you, can really only make you stronger, or so they tell us when you enlist for the army. So it goes, another one of the aforementioned curve balls.
The biggest thing that will happen for me these next four months, I feel, is learning to understand and appreciate the bond I have with other people, whether they be family, close friends, and close acquaintances. For the lot of my life, I've never really understood the interactions I've had with others. They exist, but once everything is stripped clean, I'm usually left to wonder what anything means to me. And so it is, with four months away, that I will learn so much more about myself, and fall. As of right now, the only direction I can really see is up. I've fallen so much for just myself in my ineptitudes that the only way to see is higher, not lower.
They say change is difficulty, and admittedly, its probably the hardest thing that any of us will encounter in our lives. The challenge of change is not something someone takes voluntarily, but rather, the challenge is mandatory, as each and every one of us are faced with our own daunting task. For me, its the understanding of people and the daily battles between me and my mind, an ongoing battle that I hope to someday overcome and win. And for me, the sooner the better: but I must be patient.
In the 120 days I am gone, I will refuse to forget those who made me to who I am. I will refuse to forget those whom I've shared early morning conversations, late night discussions laying and looking up at my bed, and those whom I've shared a large pizza. I accept that travel will change me – whether it be in sickness or learning, but I will not accept changing to forget, an excuse that has all too plagued me in the past.
What differs between us, Bruce Wayne, Buddha, and Aladdin is very little. All of us have something in common with these three: We struggle, and we fight our own battles within, and continue to fight them. Likewise, as Bruce Wayne was asked, we should all ask ourselves: Why do we fall?
The answer fittingly is always, so that we too, can pick ourselves up again – and all that, is being part of the journey.
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