Morocco…
It started in the fall of 2015. I threw my name in to “the hat” for a job in Morocco. It was an ad from a private FB group I was in at the time. The ad read something like this…”Looking for single male well versed in holistic movement and nutrition. Travel abroad required.” That was it. I figured what the hell. A week or two later, I received an email. It was an invite to do a video interview. After the first interview, I received an email from the actual client. It was an offer and a contract. Honestly, i felt shock, excitement and fear all bundled together. I had been divorced since 2012 and we were doing the back and forth with the kids. The kids also had a step-dad. It felt important to discuss this with them before accepting the offer. Honestly, they were thrilled! Not for me though hahaha… they were thrilled they no longer had to go back and forth between homes. It was a beautiful and painful aha moment for me. My parents didn’t get divorced until I was in my 20s.
So I accepted the offer. So much fear and unknown within me. More money than I had ever made at one time in my life. Getting to do the work I loved to do with one client. The travel thing was not as alluring to me as it seemed to be to others. I grew up in KS. Moved to Colorado in the early 90s. Had been to Mexico a few times and Canada once. That’s it. So flying across the ocean to a different continent was intimidating to say the least. I only had stories in my head of Africa that I had seen in movies and on TV. Somehow I did it though. It was fucking messy getting their to say the least ;)
The flight went from Denver to London with a few hour layover. Then from London to Casablanca where I was to be picked up.
It was a 7 hour time difference. I don’t remember what time I landed. It was dark and late is all I remember. I was shuttled to the hotel in Rabat where I would be residing. I didn’t know for how long.
During the first week there, something shifted inside of me that has never gone back. My nervous system aligned with the earth, with the circadian rhythms, with my inner clock. My body started waking up with the sun naturally and has not stopped. To my recollection, it had NEVER done that. How cool is that for a body in its 40s?!?!
In 6 months time, here are a few of the highlights for me that I feel intense gratitude for:
i was able to find local raw milk, local free-range eggs (chicken, duck, turkey), local freshly grown fruit in season, a local butcher shop with “grass-fed” meats including lamb
i got to travel for “work” to Paris, Megève, Casablanca, Marrakech, Ifrane, the Sahara Desert (on Christmas morning). I got to visit 2 continents in 6 months having only ever visited/lived on one prior to that.
i got to work with a young individual (under 30). i will never know if anything i said or suggested had an impact on their life. it’s actually none of my business if it did or didn’t to be honest.
There were so many lessons from this trip and many are personal and not willing to share. One of the biggest ones I was surprised by was this…resigning from a job that i loved AND that paid me more currency than I had ever been paid because my Soul was unfulfilled. Emptiness. Before this trip, I believed I would do anything for the amount of currency I was being paid. Turns out, the mind/thought/belief was wrong :)
The other lesson that was surprising that I am willing to share is this… i experienced so much shame within during this entire 6 months because of this wonderful opportunity i was given. i cannot tell you how much shame arouse because a part of me did not feel good enough to have this job, travel to these places AND receive payment for all of it. i still had a FB account and i did not post any photos of all of my travels because i felt so much fucking shame. truly amazing…
I look forward to the next time an opportunity like this comes along. First thing I will do is check in with my Soul before agreeing to any terms ;) second thing I will do… is feel worthy, good enough and deserving of the opportunity :)
much luv and gratitude. jeff