Bacolod Trip: Visiting the Land of my Lola's Girlhood, the Origin of my Maternal Ancestors

Bacolod City, Binalbagan, Himamaylan, and Hinigaran. Names of these places from Negros Island evokes memories from my girlhood, listening to stories of my Lola Alice how she grew up in Negros and the stories that came with it. Among them are tales of swimming in rivers, climbing trees while munching on sugarcane stalks, and prancing by the sugarcane fields. Having grown up in Mindanao, these tales were only meant for my imagination, until my Aunt Bella invited me, my mom, and my brother to celebrate Lola Conching's 90th birthday in Binalbagan last June 9-12, 2017. Lola Conching is one of the two surviving younger siblings of my Lola Alice. I got to see the river, the sugarcane fields, and the sceneries from my Lola Alice's stories, which brought to life what was merely in my imagination. I pictured out my Lola in her girlhood in the place, where the memories belonged. It was a nostalgic trip, with so many tugs on the heartstrings. It was also a spiritual trip. It was during this trip that I realized the wisdom of moving on from old wounds. Indeed, time heals all wounds. And moving on with forgiveness is the way forward, if indeed true healing is to happen. I am grateful to have come full circle at 34 years old, to finally forgive issues of the past, and to realize that some pain might still be there, but they are no more than scars at this point. There are pain that must be laid to rest. And from this time on, the heart is light to welcome the future that is about to come having finally decided to leave behind the baggage it had been carrying in the past. Indeed, journeys are not about moving from one place to another in our external world. Most importantly, journeys are movements within. :)