the beauty of the desert
Again, I was surprised.
This was not the first time for me to visit Sahara in Morocco and visiting M‘Hamid lost a bit of the excitement of the first few times. Once I see the first dunes in the distance, it feels more like coming home to friends.
Nevertheless I was surprised again.
This years tour took us further South than ever before. One night we even camped quite close to the Algerian border. This area seems to be even more remote than the others and we saw plenty of animal tracks, even snakes, which has been a first for me in Sahara.
What surprised me most was what I learned about myself. Again.
Taking a week off from internet, emails, telephone and whatsapp is a detox by itself. You switch into another rhythm and into another mood. You slow down and become more present.
At the same time, traveling in Sahara is so much easier than on a boat which is constantly moving. The simplicity in the desert is more obvious than even on a tiny wooden boat. That may be because you need even less for living. Basically that is just food, water and a bit of orientation. You can’t sink, you will not be blown away, you are not dependent on the wind to travel, nothing is shaking, nothing has to be fixed or double checked several times a day.
That gave me time to think, time to feel, time to go deep.
I realized that this has been a great year of changes for myself that brought me much closer to the one I want to be, but that I sometimes got trapped in a hustle. I wasn’t in a hurry while doing it, but had so many projects lined up, that my mind was always a bit occupied by the next. Sometimes I wanted to be at several places at once and was to distracted.
I needed to remind myself:
- Be present.
- No bullshit.
- Keep it real.
- No pretending.
- Just honesty.
- And vulnerability.
Especially that vulnerability aspect is something to think about. In a lot of people who achieve amazing things I see the imposter syndrome. I feel myself trapped there as well and have the urge to cover up my weaknesses to not be found out.
One thing I learned earlier that year from a coach I admire a lot:
- what brought me here, won’t get me there
- my biggest weaknesses of the past, might become my biggest strength of the future
Therefor I need to be honest with myself and learn to embrace the weaknesses I have. Only if I do that, I can turn them into a strength to reach another level and that is what I aim for.
Who would have expected, that I come home with so many thoughts about myself…
Did you ever think about your weaknesses and how you could embrace them?
Take care my friend,
Floh
