When we see all the wonders we have now in our modern life, its hard to imagine than during 16th century people begin their sea journey juts depending on the ‘never ending’ ocean. But that’s how the first sailor decided to take his very voyage.
Just like Fernando de Magelhaes, then known as Ferdinand Magellan sailed to the west from Spain in 1519. His only hope was that he would find spice resources for the country who sponsored his sailing. This Portugal born sailor off to the blue sea with the intention of reaching the Spice Islands by sailing west around South America. With much hardship he succeeded in reaching and then sailing across the Pacific Ocean, a vast ocean where in months all that you can see is blue ocean.
The history noted that after about two years sailing, he was killed while trying to subdue the natives on what is now the island of Mactan in the Philippines. Almost a year later, with still more hardships, one of his original five ships, Victoria, eventually made it back to Spain. Though Magellan didn't complete the entire voyage circling the globe by the ocean, as the expedition leader he is usually credited with being the first man to circle the globe.
Our life’s journey. If we could view our live as a journey, then the journey must have a goal. We can’t go out just as we feel like going. In our modern life we are obliged to run our live for a goal. Unless a clear goal we will end up stop at a place we never knew.
We seek for some answer of what life is. I have a friend who spent his entire life searching for who he is. For many years he was wondering around the journey of his life seeking for an ultimate answer. After a long time he stops at a faith (religion) in which he thinks that’s the end of his journey. Most of the time the answers we were looking for seemed leading us to nowhere.
We tend to maximize our brain capacity. Then what we do? We tend to stretch ourselves thinly to nourish our lacks. Then what we found is a road leading us to a place where we thought we have found it.
Its not you who look for HIM. But, do you really know that no matter how hard you try to ‘find’ Him, He reminds unveiled? Until He revealed Himself to you then you can really found by Him.
He comes to you. The point is not that you look for Him and find Him. Its actually He chooses you and separate you to be His tools.
The only uniqueness of Him is not that he sits there and wait for your offerings. He came down to be one of you, cried, tired, hungry, betrayed, yet stays holy.
The song below might represent the feeling of a lost self. When we went on despair, its not us who look for HIM, but He reveals HIMself so that we could see HIM there.
I cried a tear, You wiped it dry
I was confused, You cleared my mind
I sold my soul, You bought it back for me
And held me up and gave me dignity
Somehow you needed Me.
Chorus :
You gave me strength
To stand alone again, To face the world
Out on my own again, You put me high upon a pedestal
So high that I could almost see eternity
You needed me,
You needed me
And I can't believe it's you
I can't believe it's true
I needed you and you were there
And I'll never leave, why should I leave
I'd be a fool, 'Cause I've finally found someone who really cares
You held my hand, When it was cold
When I was lost, You took me home
You gave me hope, When I was at the end
And turned my lies, Back into truth again
You even called me friend
Jakarta, April 2008
