Staring a new journey soon

The school vacation is coming to an end soon and this holiday has been some what special for me. I spent quite a bit of time thinking through about me becoming a certified Forest Therapy Guide and wondering if this is really something that I will want to do in the near future. I somehow missed the Meet The Trainers session as i was traveling from Bangkok to Hong Kong that morning. I watched the recorded session when I was in Singapore and found out more about what the course entails. I took some times to digest the information provided and I still had my doubt about joining the training.

I was trying to do one session of forest therapy in Singapore but some how didn’t manage to do this until the very last evening of my stay. The weather wasn’t that favourable for the few days when I was in Singapore and there were many other errands that I needed to run. One of the highlights of my trip back this time was meeting up with my former Principal, Mrs Yeo. Mrs Yeo is someone that I respect a lot and she has taught me many things during my time teaching in Singapore under her leadership. When it was my turn to share my updates, I told her that I am looking into becoming a Forest Therapy Guide. She looked at me at first and I thought she was going to give me a whole lecture on how I should do something better than this. After all, people either upgrade themselves with professional skills or by taking a Master or a PhD. Here I am thinking about being a certified Forest Therapy Guide. To my surprise, she affirmed my decision and sharing how this is so important today. She was sharing her view on how this is so needed today and helping people to find that balance in life and returning back to nature and also to God.

Somehow, I felt that it was a confirmation that doing this training is the right thing to do. My sister also told me that we are not young anymore and we should do what we like and really enjoy doing. I decided to officially sign up for the training and decided that this is something that I am going to commit myself to do the next 6 months. If God is willing, I may turn this into something that I will do as a side career.

The last evening before I head back to Bangkok, I decided to revisit a route that I have previously taken as part of my healing process. It was a park connector route that actually leads to a forested stretch before hitting Mandai Road. I wasn’t sure if the route was still accessible as there have been several developments in the area. I decided to try it out anyway and so I put on my gear and started walking to see if the forested path of Ulu Sembawang was still there. I was so delighted that the path was till there despite of all the developments that are taking place. I even spotted a flying squirrel along the way. That walk was one of the most refreshing one for me during my short stay in Singapore. I got a whiff of the smell of nature and the it felt like all the trees were breathing into me the breath of revilalization and refreshing. I felt so alive when I was inside the forest.

With that trip, I ended my holiday in Singapore and felt rather refreshing to know that I have accomplished what I set out to do before returning back home. I am definitely one more step closer to being a certified forest therapy guide.

Ronneth