How Traveling To My Mom’s Hometown Help Me Unwind & Let Go Negative Toxic Mindset
Last week, my sister and I received an invitation from my aunt to travel to Misamis Occidental (the other side of Misamis Oriental, my hometown) and to my mom’s hometown in Zamboanga del Sur. To have a clearer picture of the whole trip, I have here an image of the Mindanao map where we traveled.
Surprisingly, they arrived in our house earlier without notice. Yikes! My sister and I just woke up and immediately rushed to pack our bags and go.
Where we traveled last weekend?
From my hometown (in green square box), we went to the other side of Mindanao where Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Sur lie, taking almost whole day by land and by sea. In the island, there are two Misamis — Oriental and Occidental; and two Zamboangas — Norte (North) and Sur (South). My mom and my aunt (her sister) lives in the Sur. So, we headed there.
With the car, we drove from our barangay (village) to Mukas, Lanao del Norte to ride the barge / ferry to make it to the other side of the Misamis faster. And after we docked, we drove again from Ozamis City to Aloran (another village), where the sister of my grandma as well as other relatives lived.
They have their own reasons for traveling as I do have mine. Primarily, my aunt wanted to check her land and plant something on the inherited land from the ancestors. In my case, I wanted to check on my other aunt (the youngest sister of my mom) and unwind after a lot of built up stress in the city. You know, Cagayan de Oro is one of the busiest metropolitan city in Mindanao, followed by Davao. So, I thought of traveling there with them and stay in a stress-free rural life for the whole weekend.
I did, together with my sister.
While being there, I felt the difference between living in a busy city and staying the life surrounded with nature. The inherited house of the Tejano sisters (my aunts and my mom) is in the middle of the massive farmlands and mountains. The air was fresher and more quiet.
Although it was a short weekend trip, my mind was at pause. I thought of a lot of things, re-zoning my ongoing mental mess leading to massive confusion and distress. Somehow it became part of my healing process amid my chaotic and negative mindset, which in the past years has been succumbed with major depression with a series of depressive episodes.
What I got from the whole trip?
Honestly, a lot. But it was more of releasing the stress I collected from living in an industrialized part of Mindanao. Within two days we’re there, I got three main points I learned from the whole traveling we did.
Healing from silence
Although my being introvert and loner gave me that space I needed from shallow chit chats from my relatives, I gave myself a treat of silence and inner healing I needed. It gave me a glimpse of how it is to stay in a place like that, that made me realize a human needed nature to achieve healing. I thought, “If I could feel a bit better staying in a rural area for some days, what more if I stay there a bit long.”
A human needed nature to achieve healing.
Reorganize thoughts
Staying in a location away from the busy life was indeed a nice experience to reorganize thoughts from the chaotic mess in the city proper. And I have been looking forward to gather more of these experiences in the future.
Other relatives thought I was acting weird because I didn’t talk with the others in the dining table about any BS. At the back of my mind, I wasn’t there to brag about whatever I have now or in the future. I was there to get a new experience from the silence I enjoy.
Opening up
While I was there, the fact I told my aunt of my ongoing crisis caught me off-guard. I was completely honest with her of what I’ve been through — mentally. Personally, I’m convinced I have an eating problem affected from the accumulated major depression as well as personality disorder. In fact, it has been going on for seven months now, turning eight in August.
Telling my aunt about it made me feel a bit relaxed though the depressive feeling remained. At least, I took a grip of myself and gathered the courage to speak up, telling her everything. It was nice.
Any person, including myself, needed nature to fill in that gap built within the harsh walls of the metropolis, thus, loneliness and depression thrived.
Final thoughts
Generally, every human being needed that kind of pleasure where nature can give off that positive vibe from its surroundings. Any person, including myself, needed nature to fill in that gap built within the harsh walls of the metropolis, thus, loneliness and depression thrived.
Depression is a symptom underneath the surface of any serious mental condition as an outcome of industrialization and advancement, neglecting how humans are normally structured to socialize and…breathe.
As a person with mental issues like me, any short weekend trips like this will help me cope with my problems without relying much on medications.
To me, depression is a symptom underneath the surface of any serious mental condition as an outcome of industrialization and advancement, neglecting how humans are normally structured to socialize and…breathe.
Photo by Bryton Udy on Unsplash
Originally published at mecyllgaspary.wordpress.com on July 29, 2018.
