Livin’ La Vida Limbo

By Gabe Sjoberg

Transitions aren’t always easy. Sometimes they’re self instigated, sometimes not. Sometimes ya see them coming from a mile away, and sometimes you don’t know ’em til you’re in ’em. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors, regardless, transitions are often agents of growth and bring with them waves of experiences that have the power to expand you, if ya let ‘em.

I recently landed myself in a big transition. Similar to others, the pandemic put a lot of things into perspective for me. Working on my home laptop, in my kitchen for 8+ hours a day this past year returned a deep longing to work outdoors again. After several conversations with my partner, we decided to leave our jobs and the community we’ve been a part of for over a decade in Los Angeles to work for the Forest Service in Alaska.

Awesome, right? It is! But one of the difficult things about transitions is that they don’t happen all at once. There’s the “before you decide to do a thing”, the “after you decide to do the thing”, and then all that awkward time in the middle when you’re waiting for the thing to happen. The ball is in motion and the anticipation begins to build. That’s where I am now- an in between limbo space land, waiting for the big thing I signed up for to begin. In these moments of transition I find some peace in thinking back to other times I’ve felt this way. One of those times was my first trip to Baja.

I heard about the magic of Baja and the Vermilion Sea Institute field station years before actually making the journey myself. Once I decided to go, excitement and anticipation grew. All of the unknowns flooded my mind, what if I don’t get along with the group? Dang, that’s a long time to be in a van with people I just met (queue social anxiety). What will it be like when I get there? Will I see a whale shark? Does that matter? Is it as magical as they all say? No one answer could quiet the insecurities I felt, for in the experience lies the answers. And so I waited and waited and waited until the time finally came for me to be acquainted with Bahía de los Ángeles myself. Spoiler alert… it IS magical. Baja lured me with a soundtrack that made my soul dance, sing, and shine a new color of light both times I’ve had the chance to visit. The energy I found there is still vibrating within me today. And that magic can be found beyond swimming with whale sharks… it can be found in the land, people, and creatures, if you’re willing to crack yourself open to it. 

My time in Baja has equipped me with more confidence to appreciate each moment of the journey, view insecurity as a companion, and embrace the inevitable times I find myself in transition again. While it isn’t always the most comfortable place to be, I trust that if I surrender to the experience, if I’m open and curious, I will leave with infinitely more than what I came with. Movement in life comes anywhere from the babiest of steps to transporting leaps. For me, Baja was a transporting leap. I hope you find your own magic there too.