Entering Bario, a place completely disparate from the world we are used to, I got a huge shock-- the nice type of shock. While we who are more 'civilized' are in our own little bubble, busy chasing things of material and ephemeral value, Bario is slow-paced, with the people there placing importance on relationships and spending time together. The natural beauty and the warm hearts almost seem like a rebellion against the world that is advancing so much in technology and knowledge yet regressing in the aspects that make us human.Every day, as we walked around in Bario, I caught my breath over the panoramic view of mountains, blue skies and fields. However, the beauty that captured my heart was not merely the sights and wonders that awakened my sense. The real beauty lay in the hospitable arms, the warm embraces, the sincere smiles and the loving hearts.
The people of Bario work hard, but they know how to enjoy life too. Our understanding of enjoying life would probably be having a bungalow overseas, owning a luxury car and earning big bucks with ease. They look at it from a whole different point of view. Enjoying life there is sitting in the kitchen with other people, sharing stories and laughing together. Worth in life is found in human relationships and the unadulterated beauty of nature.
Coming back to KL, I was almost immediately sucked into the whirlpool of work, assignments and more work. For the next whole month, my friends and I worked feverishly to complete our assignments while pining for Bario and our families there. I had also come back at a time where my students were getting back their results from their mid-year examinations, hence records and reports had to be written. With other responsibilities weighing down on me, I barely pushed through. As I started to prioritize work and assignments over human relationships, I struggled with the notion of value. Over and over again, I would question myself, what is important? Why am I doing this? As our finals neared and my dislike for studying kicked in once again, those questions appeared more and more frequently.
The real hit came when I received results for a subject that I had taken a little too lightly. To cut the long story short, my results weren't satisfactory, and I was rather upset over it (understatement). While mulling around and sulking behind my laptop, I started reprimanding myself. In between telling myself that I shouldn't be bothered by those results and realizing that I was very, very bothered, I was hit with the question: does this matter? How much does it matter? I then thought back to the days in Bario... Where the outside world seemed so far away and the hustle and bustle of everyday life was not a rat race but a lively dance.
Despite the laughter and joy that seems to overflow there, there are still gaps. The longhouse, filled with photos, but void of those young people. The sad look in the tepuqs' eyes when they talk about their children and grandchildren who barely come home. The villages that are now vacant due to the leaving of young people.
These things that the people of Bario value might just disappear along with the outflow of people. As the children of Bario are taught that 'civilization' and 'technological advancement' and everything in the city is 'better', they start to value different things.
I'm not saying that it's wrong to value money or possessions. But at the end of the day, what really matters? Life is fleeting; it is but a flower, quick to bloom, quick to wilt. My generation has been said to be one that views old age as an unpleasant time in life, and a generation that avoids talking about death. I beg to differ. Death is around us, whether we know it or not. With the recent MH17 case, death has never been closer to our hearts. But how are we responding to this tragedy? Will it just pass, like many of the trends on the internet, without leaving the slightest dent in our hearts? How will this affect what we value?
What do YOU value?
Written by
Gloria Dayang Ngu
No comments:
Post a Comment