When I lost my job in Melbourne, was made redundant, I dropped out, and never dropped back in. Why? I dropped out to save my life, and didn’t drop back in because I didn’t want to. That simple really, but let me give your some more details.
Follow Me, Keep Up Now
Soooooo this was my thinking. I was unhealthy, overweight, and my future seemed bleak and I needed a change, a big one. Now because you don’t know me you wouldn’t know this, I often find myself in the middle of interesting adventures, or my interesting mind turns the everyday into interesting adventures. A little from column A and a little from column B.
That is to say I am rarely bored, my curious mind finds wonder everywhere.
The Cogs Had Already Started Turning
Before this happened, connection had already been made to a tropical island in The Philippines. It was a connection with a wellness retreat, an opportunity to volunteer in a beautiful place, it was going to be a vacation.
The owner, an expat Aussie, was welcoming and when she found out that I was soon to be unemployed, she invited me to stay for 6 months on the island. The first month as a paying guest to understand the treatments, and then to volunteer, teaching staff, helping create a board governance strategy, and some IT support.
Nothing Holding Me Back
So I jumped off the proverbial cliff. I decided to pack up my stuff, store what I needed, donate the rest and take a massive leap into the unknown. This is something I do on a regular basis, the leaping that is, so nothing new here, except this one was much bigger than usual.
I am naturally a cautious person, it was how I was raised, yet I am super curious, so this is how I manage. I push myself to the edge of the metaphorical cliff and jump into whatever it is. After all its impossible to change your mind while free falling, the only choice you have is to travel through whatever it is you are aiming for.
Returning to the Place That Scared Me The Most
I had visited The Philippines before, just as a 3 day stopover on my way to London. It was during the time that Philippines Airlines had loads of issues and the stopover was a freebie after a flight delay, and it was more of an elongated bunny hop all the way to London. Breaking down at every stopover.
The first stop Manila, and so many things went wrong. Stuck at the airport for hours waiting for airline staff to organise transport to the Hotel, a crazy Kalesa ride that we thought we would never survive, and food poisoning hit (Coca-Cola helps if you need to stop the flow) on the way to the airport. Not a great intro to a country I knew next to nothing about.
Why Did I Go Back?
Needing a change, what seemed like the right opportunity, this time it would be on a remote tropical island, were all deciding factors, Especially the tropical island part. I could just picture relaxing on a beach, and letting all of the stress wash away with the hermit crabs.
Honestly, I felt that I needed to change my life to save my life.
The bonus level to this adventure? I fell in love on the beach and instead of 6 months volunteering, The Philippines became my home for 11 years.
Peace OUT