Yosemite...

September 27th 2008...on my way to Yosemite National Park, I had encountered the most unexpected event in my life...I got caught for speeding...

California Highway Patrol (CHP): Sir, you know this is 55 miles speed limit area and you were above that...
Me: Yes, I know that...
CHP: May I see your driver's license please?
Me: (taking out my Indonesian driver's license) Here it is, I'm a traveller...
CHP: Do you have your passport with you?
Me: (taking out my passport copy and give it to him)
CHP: So you stay in a hotel?
Me: Yes, I do...
CHP: Ok, I have another call right now and so I'm gonna give you a warning. Promise me that you won't speed again Ok?
Me: I promise (nodding my head seriously and tried to give him a pitiful look)
...

My friends and I had a few "explanations" of why he let me off with a warning...

Maybe because he found out that I was a traveller with a strange looking driver's license...
Maybe because he thought it was not a good idea to send the speeding ticket to a hotel...
Maybe because he got another more important call...no time to process my ticket...
Maybe...and maybe...

Whatever the reason might be...I can't tell you how grateful or relieved I was afterwards...

The roads to and from Glacier Point were winding with sharp turns and two directional. As if that was not enough, there were no fences along them for protecting vehicles from falling over to the deep chasm beside... The bright afternoon sun sometimes blinded me from seeing what was at the front. So if there was a squirrel on my car's path...may it rest in peace... If there was a chasm in front of us...may WE rest in peace...

By grace...I am still alive and writing this blog...

Readers, if you expect me to write a review on Yosemite's beauty...you'd be disappointed (I could only say that it wasn't as beautiful as expected because I came at the wrong season. I'll leave it to the experts for the rest of the reviews)...

The reason why I pick the title is because this trip has given me some thoughts to ponder...

Imagine if I chose to "rebel" and drove out of the way while driving on the winding roads...
Imagine if I chose to drive on the wrong side of the road...or occupy two lanes at the same time...
Imagine if I wasn't stopped by CHP for speeding...

Sometime before this trip, I was contemplating of commiting "suicide"... I wanted to get out of this "life" due to all the dissatisfactions with whatever I had... I wanted to "rebel" instead of following the way before me...

Sometime after this trip, a friend of mine came to me for an advice. She was contemplating of leaving Shanghai for Australia because she had a permanent residence to maintain. Moreover, she did not think that staying in Shanghai was good for her future. Suddenly she got a job interview a few days before leaving Shanghai for good. She was afraid that she would like the job and lose her Australian permanent residency...

I shared with her, "Life is full of twists and turns, just like driving in Yosemite. Don't fight against it, just follow where it leads you..."
She argued, "But why is it so last minute...? Isn't that crazy?"
I said, "Not really. When I drove, I didn't know how many turns I needed to make. I did it based on last second decision, cause I followed the road"
I added, "If the road takes you to unpack your stuff and stay, why not? Why force yourself to plunge into the chasm?"
I am amused to find out that she is still in Shanghai right now with the new job...

Sigh...

So I'm gonna keep on driving on this road called Life...
No speeding this time, unless I am willing to suffer the consequences...
I shall follow the rules, the guideposts, while watching out for other drivers...
Keep on driving...
Keep on seeking...

I am the Way(follow Me)...the Truth(trust Me)...the Life(live in Me)...
Yeshua Ha'Mashiach