Take Off Your Shoes- A Lesson in Breaking Bad Habits
Every day will teach us something if we are open to receiving the message. When I booked my June 11th one-way flight to Aqaba, Jordan, for the opening night party of Mama Gaia Beach Club, all I thought about was seeing friends from college, who I had not seen in 34 years. I didn’t have a plan past laying on the beach the day afterwards. I knew whatever I chose to do next, Jordan would not only inspire me but also give me powerful lessons.
On the 16th, my new friends in Ayala Oasis, organized a driver to take me and my best travel partner, Annabelle, north to my friend Tanya’s home outside of Amman. We requested the scenic route past the Dead Sea. I had no idea I’d spy a camel, Lot’s Cave, and Mount Nebo, where G-d informed Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land.
I couldn’t believe that the stories I knew from Torah happened in Jordan! Sure, I knew about forty years of wandering in the desert, but I never put it together that to go from Egypt to Canaan, the Jews had to go through Moab.
Every Passover dinner we talk about the analogy of Egypt representing personal bondage and Canaan representing freedom. I never considered how to go from A to B.
Jordan is the connector between the two places. It is where the transformation happens!
No wonder my Rabbi, who loves wearing his NY Yankees cap, was excited for me to see Jordan.
A few days later I learned that Petra was inside Wadi Musa, Valley of Moses, where water flowed from a rock that Moishe struck and is the burial place of his brother Aaron.
Our Bedouin guide took Annabelle and I on a six-hour hike of Petra and showed us a rock with indentations where people would put their fingers on to pray. He explained that you lean into the stone as you would if you were praying at the Kotel. So, I placed my hands on the warm sandstone where Nabataeans had prayed thousands of years ago and said Shema.
Since our hike started at 7am, we had plenty of time after our expedition to drive down to Wadi Rum, check into camp, and hire a 4x4 driver for a sunset tour of the galactic red sand desert.
Our new guide was wearing a NY Yankee’s baseball cap like my Rabbi’s, which I saw as a sign. I assumed he would have a lesson for me.
He showed us several spots and served as an amazing Instagram husband, instructing us to throw sand in the air and sit on a rock while holding a scarf.
At the final stop, he instructed us to take off our shoes and walk in the sand. I immediately removed my sneakers and began walking off into the distance as the sun was setting. I was grounding with the earth and its energy.
Early the next morning, Annabelle and I walked out of camp to await the sunrise, which holds the potential to be the best day ever. After soaking in the first rays of the day, we went back to our tent to catch some more sleep, which I couldn’t do. My mind was racing, and I ended up googling where Moses first spoke to G-d. It was in Egypt at Mount Sinai. As Moses approached the burning bush, he was instructed to remove his shoes from his feet before standing on holy land.
I then started scrolling Instagram and a reel popped up with a lesson about root meanings of some Hebrew words. Shoes has the same root meaning as to lock in. Feet has the same root as habit. So, what Moses was told was to remove the habits that were locking him in.
To be free, you must break bad habits.
So, I thought about what imprisons me and what I would like to change.
Words have tremendous power and I have the bad habit of using judgmental adjectives, like good or bad, fat or thin, and success or failure. I need to practice using more descriptive adjectives like sweet, bloated, and contented.
Jordan reminded me that transformation comes from one smile, one thought, and one kind deed at a time. If we can make the changes in ourselves first, imagine how this collective power of good could make this world better.
To all my friends in Jordan who created the opportunity for me to experience this beautiful country, Shokran Allah yatikum al afia.
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