Closing - Time is passing and changes are inevitable
a traveler's note
There it is, 4 days in Biduk-Biduk and I felt totally refreshed. Thanks to the friendly atmosphere provided by the long line of coconut trees which are leaning across from both sides of the road. It is so quiet and so inspiring, as I took a small walks through the afternoon, simply just to breathe the environment. It is so different. It is so peaceful.
In one evening, I headed to Teluk Sulaiman to get a view of its sunset. When I arrived, I saw that a lot of people were gathered there either for fishing, chatting or playing volleyball. The kids were also playing their own games, not so far from where their parents enjoy the evening. They said that it happens every evening where they relieved their day stresses by simply hang-out together. They all laughed along the game and it is so interesting to me to see this kind of delightful folks.
Back on my childhood time, we were supposed to gather as well either to play soccer, volleyball or badminton every evening, kids and adults - altogether. But it is not anymore today. The kids were playing their gadget and the adults ain’t got no time at all for social visit. The soccer field is abandoned & lawn is not mowed anymore. The badminton court is gone. And a security post is now constructed on the location of where the volleyball court was there before. The social life in the city is now changed. I knew that the change is inevitable, however by looking at this scene in Teluk Sulaiman, a place which is very far from the city that I grew up, I felt a deep nostalgia.
This is the same nostalgia feeling that I sensed when I saw how cheerful the Dayak Kids were while playing their toys.
I missed my childhood moments, a bliss and cheerfulness that we took for granted that day, when nowadays it is not belong to us anymore. I am not sad, nor happy. I realise that this is the price that we shall pay for the advancement we received. But I feel glad that as long as I keep traveling, I still could go back to this kind of scene no matter how much changes that have impaired my society.
The world is indeed large, and there are plenty of alternatives that you can excerpt here as long as you are always opened to a new possibility, a new adventure. The folks of Teluk Sulaiman silently taught me that there are always a part of your family, friends or any kind of nature representatives that will keep you reminded for any things that you have taken for granted. A seed of gratitude is a seed of happiness itself. So just keep on traveling and let the world keep you reminded for the things you shall grateful for.
- End