Over the weekend- how to enjoy what we already have

When I visited Port Dickson 3 years ago.

Over the weekend, my love and I had some visitors over who came all the way from England-Ipoh. I called it England-Ipoh because they are my love’s dad’s friend who hails from Ipoh but got a citizenship in England instead. I feel like calling it Eng-poh...

*Shakes head* Okay, I am being lame! Haha!

Anyways, during the weekend we were busy entertaining our guests. We had quite a long holiday because of the Hari Raya celebration. I was quite burnt out actually, with the busy week and all juggling with running my blog and working during the day, including my freelance. Sometimes people ask me, “How the hell do you handle all this?” Most times I just don’t know how to answer. So, as burnt out as I was, I still had to help out.

I had a good chat with Uncle Mano (that’s his dad’s friend), who is quite skillful in DIY. He likes to upcycle unwanted things and turn them into something useful, like Mercedes Benz’s car seats into sofas, trees into poolside decorations and mixing bowls into ceiling lamps! So crafty!

Uncle Mano looks wise. He doesn’t have a deep English accent which is good cos I was able to understand him. He has quite a lot of insights about life and being unconventional which is interesting because you don’t get a lot of adults having the same mindset. =) Uncle Mano describes his DIY interest as “I spent my time mostly coming up with all kinds of craft ideas and making them. People probably think I am weird!” I don’t think you are weird, Uncle Mano, I said to him.

Uncle Mano and I exchanged notes, and we chatted more about what can be done with antique sewing machines with brands like Singer. Apparently he turned those into a sink. He even shared with us his idea on how pianos can be turned into a mini bar at home, where you can make a space inside the piano to keep liquor bottles and wine glasses. Amazing isn’t it?

Uncle Mano practically decorated his whole house in Ipoh (his holiday home) with upcycled things. I am looking forward to visiting his home once it is ready and plan to share it on the blog. He travels here to Malaysia to work on his house for a few months, and then goes back to England.

As we were exchanging notes on crafty ideas (him on bigger scales stuff, mine on smaller ones), my love and I changed the topics about holiday locations. We told him that we were dying to visit the beach and trying to make plans to go to Penang. I am eager to get my hands on seashells! We also told him that sometimes we wish we can have the money to travel to other overseas. With all that, Uncle Mano said “why not start here? There are plenty of interesting places in Malaysia that is worth visiting!” He has a point. He reminded me that sometimes, we don’t need to go far in search for leisure and inspirations, because we can always start with what we already have here.  There are probably a lot of places in Malaysia that we don’t know about, especially islands!

Which got me thinking, why do we tend to assume the grass is always greener on the other side? And not see what we already have in front of us?

So I told him, that the nearest beach would probably good old Port Dickson. It’s a really small town, but you get to visit the beach for sure. Unfortunately, Port Dickson is known for its murky water, garbage everywhere and almost like a ghost town. This is sad because I am sure that Port Dickson was once a beautiful holiday spot! Uncle Mano made another point, he said to me “Lynn, perhaps that’s what makes this place unique. There are plenty of people out there trying to survive the 9-5 job every day, but hoping to get away to somewhere like Port Dickson, a simple settlement with nothing much to expect from.” He included that perhaps it is the simplicity of the place that we need, that includes the trash and everything, all over town. He made another point too, he said “We always try to look for a vacation spot that is popular, filled with lots of people and expensive accommodations, and then what’s the difference when we try to get away from a busy city life?”

I really needed a holiday real bad; I’ve been dying to get away from work and just take a big break. I look at my love and said “He’s right-lah!”

I don’t know where this mindset came from or how we as humans grow up thinking that we need to look elsewhere when it is here for us. And most of the time, whenever we try so hard to look elsewhere, we end up demotivating ourselves by thinking that we don’t have it at all. It is because we choose to believe that way. We are not our thoughts.

There are some individuals out there who don’t have it all; the less fortunate ones. And yet, some of them seem happy and contented with the resources or entertainment that they have, and easily fascinated with the little things in life. There are also some people who might think that these individuals don’t aim for more, and claimed that they are their own suffering.

I beg to differ because I know we can easily alter our own perception and create our own abundance and happiness.

So, why not start here and now?

After my chat with Uncle Mano, I am inspired once again. I thank the universe silently for this reminder. Sometimes we need it because we tend to forget. Sometimes we rely on our friends and loved ones for reminders like these because we are all roles of teachers and students to one another.

Do you have any suggestions on nearby places to travel to or activities to do? I’d love to hear from you.