Stargazing in Boracay (May 22,2007)

Stargazing in Boracay
By: Maria Reylan M. Garcia

I thought it was a dream. A mirage of a God given bounty, clear and calm waters, fresh sea breeze, powdered white sand, and an aura that whispers paradise. But it wasn’t a dream; I was actually walking on the famous shores of Boracay. It was a first in my sixteen years of life, and given the opportunity is something I wouldn’t miss in the world. They say, when you visit a new place, you’ll leave it with memories. As usual, you may think I left Boracay with a clear remembrance of its natural radiance or maybe a lingering thought of Boracay as the ultimate summer breakaway. But no, it wasn’t. Only the pictures from the trip made me remember about its sceneries and night life. Those were the simple things I saw and felt during the road to Boracay, the leisure walks along its shores and the tranquil nights stargazing with new found friends.

Leaving from Iloilo to Boracay would take several hours of non-stop travel. By that time, I knew I was going to doze off, but I saw myself with my head leaning on the window of our car, a couple of thoughts filled my mind and brought me to reflection. I listened to my father as he would share tidbits of trivia along the drive, I heard my mother sharing some jokes which were better than listening to an FM station, and my brother’s chuckles echoed in the mountains we passed by. Then I thought, this is one of the sweetest things in life, a family together taking a break from the pressures of life, and enjoying each other’s presence. Everyday seems to be busy with our family, my father his 24 hour non stop business transactions, my mother with her endless nook of household chores, and me and my brother’s lazing around sessions with the television. Having the trip, was a time for my father to worry not about his customers’ demand, a time for my mother to leave alone the mountains of laundry to wash, and a time-out for me and my brother watching TV. (This may sound pleasant to my mother and father, but for me and my brother’s part having no TV is sheer torture). We moved out of our daily routine and risked the habit to experience something rare and always ignored. The phenomenon we call bonding. It is heart warming to see each of us with smiles carved on our faces. It really pays to sometimes take a time out from stress and enjoy the beauty of simpler things.

I didn’t have any second thoughts to join strolling along the shorelines of Boracay even if the sun was scorching hot. I was apprehensive and anxious to feel the white powdered sand sprinkle into my feet as I trod along. Throughout the stroll, different faces I came to meet; Koreans, Americans, Germans, French, Japanese and Filipinos. Boracay was like an international assembly for United Nations. Cultures and Races flood the tiny island of Boracay, each of them wanting to experience Boracay’s offer of heaven on earth. But, there was one thing I vividly notice. It’s a simple observation but it made me think deep. The smiles of foreigners from Filipino natives really differ. It was burning hot and everybody had a great excuse to go all stripped out, most foreigners were carrying a frown painted by the fiery heat of Mr. Summer Sun. But come and see the Filipinos, looks like Mr. Summer Sun’s powers can’t defeat their trademark smiles. It was then said that Philippines was one of the happiest countries amidst the economic instability it possesses. It’s in a Filipinos nature to be always cheerful and optimistic. A Filipino man trips over causing his knee to bleed; his friend asks “Are you okay?” Supposedly he’s not, but he goes blurting out “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch.” Trademark Filipinos, that is why even if our country isn’t as powerful as the great nations of the west, we still live happily. Filipinos would often times believe that God will save them, against any poverty or downfall, that is why, we are too hopeful and cheerful, although we also need to help ourselves in order to rise up from that collapse. Still, it’s nice to step aside stress and smile for a while. What’s the use of too much success if you are not happy? Rather, it will be not called success in the first place.

You know what’s better than stargazing in a beautiful night at Boracay? It’s stargazing with some friends and talking about life. It makes the stars glisten and twinkle more, it makes the darkness less scary, and it makes the night worthwhile. It was a first for me to mingle right there and then, but since the atmosphere was suitable for serenity and calmness, It really helped hide my timidity. I realized that night, that it wasn’t the clear waters and powdered sand that made Boracay, the ultimate breakaway. It’s the people you came with, the people you meet, it’s about the people. Going there alone would make the legendary sunset less than ordinary, being solo would make the experience plain and common. It takes great courage for someone to let go even just for a while all his day to day routine and breakaway from all of it. But it takes a great deal more to share some part of one’s life to another, even if you’re already family. Society today is always busy, that opportunities of interaction and mingling tend to fade. Society is in itself a word that defines community and relations, but now it contradicts its meaning. Talking to another person would not make you less human, in fact it makes you really human. I had my own problems and depressions, locking in my mind that I was the worst, that I had the most burdens. But, after sharing it with another, I proved myself to be wrong. There is always someone who has lesser or much graver problems than you do. To make you hopeful and secure, it’s nice to share and listen to others, with this one may learn to adjust with the challenges of life. I may know little about challenges and life in general, but what I am assured and sure of is that no one has the worst of everything, neither the best of everything. To be assured of this, you need to stargaze; you need to take time to talk with others. Isolating myself, was a mistake, it only took a Boracay trip to make me realize that.

Maybe those insights were the prize of being quite younger and simpler in understanding than most people in the world. In this state I was able to see more beyond the sceneries, I was able to look unto the plain and minute experiences, but due to this simplicity, I thought of a deeper perspective and view. I still have many stages to go through, but for now I won’t let go of being in this state, I want to see simpler things first so I’ll be able to discover greater ones. Simple things like taking a time-out, smiling, and stargazing with some friends; simple things, that most people today thought of as being too simple that it is quite inaccessible and hard to accomplish. If I would be ask if I wanted to visit Boracay again? I would surely agree, not mainly because of the clear waters and powdered white sand, but because of all the excuse in the world to…

Time Out..
Smile..
and Stargaze with Friends..

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