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by PAM
I dislike traveling... uhm, that is, if it is for 'straight-up' work and that's all! I find it hard to be mixing something that I am passionate about - traveling, and learning through traveling, in this case - with something that I usually 'just' do for the sake of keeping the peace in the workplace. Of course, I love what I do in my profession... it's just that, there are things that I'd rather not do sometimes because they drove me to boredom 💤, but I do them, anyway, in the spirit of teamwork for as long as they do not oppose my personal principles and my faith. I guess it's up to me to find a way to make the most of the experience.
I've been away for a few days - traveling for work... in Higher Education. The place I went to was very fascinating, and the conference I attended was truly relevant and necessary to achieve inclusive progress in the Asia-Pacific Region. 😮 I feel blessed to have met a number of wonderful people in this specific development area in Higher Education, and made a number of friends, too. 😇 Therefore, it was a productive trip - but mostly, 'workwise', that is. There were moments when I looked out from the window and wished I had time to explore the incredible surroundings... on my own, or with a kindred spirit. It was one of those trips that was mostly sponsored by an International Development Agency, partly by my Institution... and partly by myself. It's unavoidable to be spending your own funds to carry out development 'missions' in this profession. And yet, it's nothing compared with what the International Agency and, therefore, the citizens of the world, spent to make this event possible.
So, every minute of every day was all about work... they exhaust you to your wits' end from the moment you emerge from that tube that connects the plane that flew you to the foreign place and your arrival gate at the airport until the time you take your seat in the plane that will bring you back home. Oh, oh, oh... not to mention the few days before your trip as well when you ran around like mad in preparation for your trip while doing your usual (and 'unusual') stuff in the workplace... because some Institutions forget that we are 'only human'. And then, you cringe at the expectations and the work that awaits after the event, too. *sigh* And yet, like a brave 'soldier', you do it... you go with it, you work hard to make the whole 'gig' successful... because, at the end of the day, you know that this is truly a worthwhile undertaking. It's for greater good... and you're just happy that you're contributing something, no matter how small. And you do your best to check out your foreign surroundings no matter how exhausted you felt so you can look the travel bug in you in the mirror and say, "hey, I didn't totally ignore your wish, girl."
And yet, the whole thing makes you miss home no matter what...
🎶 "Another aeroplane, another sunny place
I'm lucky, I know
But I wanna go home...."🎵
It's a good thing that there are thoughtful artists in this world who truly can relate with their audience. They use their artistic platforms to reach out, and say, 'we hear ya'. You know what, we hear them as well... and we do listen in true delight as we allow them to coax us to withdraw a bit into that 'tent in the rain' that they so generously pitched for us and connect with our inner melancholy, drown in the beauty of it all... as they take us 'Home'. I'm lucky to have found the video above when I most needed it... finding my way home this early Sunday morning. Just in time to celebrate Father's Day with my father.
So, yes, it is Sunday morning music for me! It is, indeed, rare treat to see together three great artists, such as the legendary pop songwriter, David Foster, and Michael Bublé and Blake Shelton, collaborating in one song. The result is so utterly beautiful! Ah, bliss!
So, yes, it is Sunday morning music for me! It is, indeed, rare treat to see together three great artists, such as the legendary pop songwriter, David Foster, and Michael Bublé and Blake Shelton, collaborating in one song. The result is so utterly beautiful! Ah, bliss!
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Video credit: Thanks, YouTube, for the video links.
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