Written on 19 June 2017
This June 2017 is over and there are three things I learnt from it: to live in the present, to simplify things, and to accept and adapt with the season.
As I wrote before, this holiday reminds me on the importance of living in the present. This is especially as I made mistakes which then created a vicious cycle of regret and worried of the future. As I failed to prioritize, I did not plan for the main attractions of each city. The only ticket I bought before was only Alhambra in Granada. The rest of attractions in Milan, Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, Siena, Rome, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and Barcelona are not planned ahead on which ones to be visited and whether they require bookings of tickets. So I missed some of the popular attractions I thought I should visit and worried for last minute efforts in buying tickets for each of the next cities' attractions. In addition, I did not manage to submit a review that was due on 26 May until now that throughout the holiday there is a regret and distraction for doing that reviewing of other people's paper. I am very thankful to my wife who showed by example to live in each of the days doing things that can still be done and letting go things that can no longer be changed.
Secondly, I continued to learn to simplify things, something that I find it hard as I want to do or to include so many things, even as I write this post. The tendencies to visit all things are still there. In Milan, I made the two of us walking very far just because I wanted to tick more things. In Florence, I worried to much because of the complexities I imagined in going to Cinque Terre or San Gimignano, and Siena. It made me going to the other extreme where I only wanted to stay in Florence. Thanks to my wife, I had the courage to simplify the plan and play by the ear. For example, we chose San Gimignano over Cinque Terre simply because of the train schedule and price. Also, we only decided to go to Siena after seeing San Gimignano and the bus availability. Also, in Spain, I reduced the targets and just visited two or maximum of three places in a day. Also for the place to eat, I learnt to follow my wife seeing what is nice around us instead of following the rating in google map.
Third is to accept and adapt with the season accordingly. In Sevilla and Cordoba, the weathers were very hot and could reach 40 degree Celsius. So we tried to walk less. We walked more in Granada but still returned to hotel earlier. The weather in Barcelona is much nicer and so we went around till it's dark at 9 plus as they have longer daylight. One thing I learn is to accept the weather and do what is suitable instead of denying it. Of course we still hope for better weather as it fluctuates. But even if it does not change, it's ok. Similarly, in this holiday, I am more moody and anxious. It is not a good thing. At the same time, there are still positive sides of it such as becoming less distracted of whatsapp messages as I don't feel like reading or replying to them especially those long conversations in whatsapp group. I also slept on time instead of trying to do more or plan more which happen when I am very energetic.
It has been more than 30 minutes since I wrote this - instead of the 5 to 10 mins target. It is okay to sometimes break the rule. At the same time it is good to stop here and learn that it is okay not to capture all my thoughts and lessons learnt.
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