We remember moments, not days

Many of us are so caught up with our goals, aspirations and our daily routines that we often look past and brush off little things that truly matter.  We are so busy doing “important” things, we fail to see the beauty of small moments, and one day we will regret it, because we will look back and realise that those small moments had big impacts. We will realise that those brief moments of sharing laughter with someone else and long conversations about everything and nothing were very special.

“We remember moments, not days.”

The 16 days in Bario with Project WHEE! consisted of many of these special moments. This experience was about sitting at the veranda in the morning, listening to Kelabit radio while watching the mist slowly slip away. It was about teaching Jenny (Aunty Catherine- ‘e e’'s daughter) how to do her homework and her insisting on holding my hand while she walked. It was about cooking with ‘e e’ and witnessing her joy when she gets an English sentence right. It was about walking into someone in the toilet and then waking the longhouse up with laughter, and it was about sharing jokes and stories with the people I love very much.

The view from the homestay veranda in the morning. 

In many ways, Bario made me realise that all these small moments are the very foundation of the relationships that we build. I will always cherish the random conversations I have with my batch mates, especially during debriefing sessions (where we were to reflect on our day, how we felt, etc) at night and at the ‘tetel’ (fireplace) while roasting (read: burning) marshmallows.

Enjoying each other's company while roasting marshmallows at the tetel

Many of us dream of going to beautiful places- Rome, Alaska, Peru, Japan. Bario is definitely beautiful, and this experience would not have been perfect if I did not share it with many other people whom I hold dear to my heart. In many cases, I feel that the place is only as good as the people you share it with, and sometimes, wherever you are, it doesn’t matter as long as you are with people who do.

Even though I only spent a total of about 10 days with ‘e e’, I couldn’t help but feel like I have known her for much longer. In that short span of time, we have managed to bond by weaving, and through conversations about our families and food. It’s been almost three months since I’ve been back, but I will never forget the feeling when ‘e e’ called me ‘anak’ (son/daughter in Malay), and when she and amam(her husband) put on bracelets that I weaved. It may have been a very simple gesture, but those moments are very, very special to me.

E e, Jenny, and I on cultural night. We were coincidentally all in red!

So I urge you to stop for a little while. Stop to look up at the sky and admire its beauty. Stop, enjoy the company around you and appreciate the laughter shared between you, because life isn’t all about deadlines and work. It’s also a lot about appreciating the people and things around you, and the relationships that you’ve built.

Some of the people who made this experience a great one. Here's to the inside jokes and friendship we share.
#doublechocolatechipsmore #diamondcutters

As for me, I only hope that I will be blessed with many more of these moments; moments that will make me smile when I look back on them one day. For now, I shall enjoy this blissful moment of a warm cup of green tea in my hand and the sound of good music in the background.

Rachel Khoo