SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Today is Sunday and I am pretty the traffic leading to Kuala Lumpur and other big cities in Malaysia is going at a snail pace . But if you are the one who got stucked in the traffic madness , do not worry . You are just one of the thousand Malaysians who are vying for a  traffic space in which you can speed up your car and get back home as quickly as possible . The festive mood is going to be turned off by midnight and the usual hectic schedule will continue to bother us until the next festive celebration .

However , this had nothing to do with our topic today . Our topic of the day is " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " . You see , people are so fixated and obsessed when it comes to reaching the destination or goal , that they sometimes forget something behind ; the journey itself . It is in every human nature that we could not care less about our surrounding and the situation we are in . For everyone of us , the end justifies the mean . This is a wrong concept . For me , we must take it easy , enjoy the journey and try to achieve the goal in a harmless way .

Let me give you an example . Let say that I , Manop will be travelling from Penang to Johor Baru . Now , do you think that I can drive the car whichever I wants , even to the extent of endangering other road users and the passangers inside my car . Do you think it is a proper thing to do ? Of course no . By the way , I am on a vacation in Johor and I do not see any need for reckless , speed driving in which it would lead me into accidents or being caught in a speed trap . Instead , I will drive at a reasonable speed , stop at any rest stations whenever I feel tired , enjoy the the road scenery , maybe even giggling myself to the funny advertisement banner set up along the highway . Now , that is what a travel is all about .

The concept " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " can also be applied in our daily life . Take Pandalela Rinong and Datuk Lee Chong Wei for example . Where were we when they are suffering setbacks in the diving pool or badminton competition ? Where were we when they are crying out loud when the supporters said they are just good-for-nothing athletes ? Where were we when they are training like there is no tommorrow for years ?  Sadly , we are only there when they achieved their goals . We are busy cheering for their Olympic medals as if the medals just fell from the sky .

My personal opinion is that we had overlooked the agonising pain they had endured in their journey to Olympic fame . I think that maybe we should slow down and look back closely on their story . Their story is like a journey on a highway . Sometimes , the car broke down . Sometimes , they feel tired . Sometimes , they feel like giving up when they almost reached the end of the journey . Had they been a " reckless car driver " , I do not think they can achieve their destination .

If you are reading this , please remember that the most beautiful part of the journey is not the destination ; it is the journey itself . THANK YOU for reading this .