Happy Thursday!

Earlier this month, we began by paying closer attention to our inner life and how it affects how you feel day to day.

Things often become clearer once you start noticing what is happening inside you. Some thoughts pass through easily. Others ask for your time and energy.

Over time, what you give your attention to becomes familiar, like a well-worn jacket or pair of shoes. It may feel known, though it does not always support you as you move through your days. Your thoughts influence how you feel inside—how you experience your body, how you carry emotion, and how you move through your life. Attention has weight and impact. Where it rests affects how you feel.

I came to understand this more deeply through meditation. Before I began practicing, I did not realize how often I treated every thought as either true or definitive. Learning not to attach to them showed me that not everything that pops into my head needs to be believed or acted on.

That realization changed how I relate to my life. It created space between thought and response. It made it easier to notice when something deserved my attention—and when it did not.

This week is an invitation to explore that space for yourself.

Sitting With Thoughts Without Following Them

Set aside a few minutes to quietly sit, without needing to do anything else.

As you settle in, allow your attention to rest on your breath for a few moments. There is no need to control it. Simply notice that you are breathing.

Thoughts will appear. When they do, see if you can notice them without following them. You are not pushing anything away. You are also not stepping into the story they offer. Let each thought rise and fall.

If you notice yourself engaging, judging, or rehearsing, gently return to the breath and begin again. Each return is part of the practice.

After a few minutes, ask yourself this question:
​Which thoughts asked for my energy, and which ones passed on their own?

When you are ready, open your eyes and return to your day, carrying that awareness with you.

Personal Reflection

This reflection is inspired by the practices in Take a Shot at Happiness.

As you move through your days, notice which thoughts tend to stay with you and which ones pass without effort. Pay attention to how your body responds when you engage with certain thoughts versus when you let them go.

You are not trying to correct or improve anything. You are learning how your attention works and how it affects how you feel, move, and respond.

Photo Op

When you notice a moment where a thought releases its hold—where you choose not to engage or follow it—pause and take a photo of whatever is in front of you.

The image does not need to explain anything. It simply marks a moment when your attention returned to the present.

Action Opportunity

Look at your photo and recall what you noticed about yourself at that moment. Write one or two sentences describing what shifted when you chose not to engage with the thought.

Save your words with the image in your Take a Shot at Happiness App or in your journal.

With practice, these moments help you recognize how often clarity appears when attention is used more selectively. This reflection explores how learning not to follow every thought can change how you feel and respond. or in your journal.

This helps you recognize how your inner wisdom shows up in everyday life.

There is more to explore. ⬇️

My latest Best Holistic Life article, a podcast conversation, the Take a Shot at Happiness App, and my transformational travel journeys are all here to support your wholebeing in mind, body, and spirit.

Wellbeing Travel Experiences

My Sojourn Explorers journeys are designed to support your health and wellbeing in its fullest sense—how you think, how you feel in your body, and how you relate to your inner life. These places offer room for the body to settle, for thinking to ease, and for awareness to return.

Breathing slows. Awareness returns. You begin to notice what supports you, and that awareness carries with you when you return home.

Take a Shot at Happiness Retreat:
Dwarika’s Sanctuary, Nepal

Feb 20–27, 2026 | Group Size: 16 Seekers | Inquire About Cost​

In Nepal, the day begins with mountain light and ends with ritual. Prayer flags move with the wind. Bells sound in the distance. Life unfolds with intention rather than urgency.

Your days move between sacred sites and quiet spaces, guided by the land itself. Walking temple grounds, sitting with monks, sharing meals prepared with care, you begin to notice how differently your body responds when the mind stops racing ahead. Breathing slows. Attention becomes steadier. Thoughts no longer compete for space.

Practices woven through the journey—reflection, photography, ritual, time in silence—offer simple ways to observe your inner life as it is. Perspective widens. What matters becomes easier to recognize.

At the edge of the Himalayas, health is felt through connection: to place, to tradition, and to yourself. You leave with a clearer sense of direction, informed by a land that has carried spiritual wisdom for centuries.

Take a Shot at Happiness Retreat:
Vermejo, New Mexico

April 8–12, 2026 | Group Size: 10 Seekers | Inquire About Cost​

At Vermejo, mornings arrive with light stretching across open fields. Paths lead through forest and meadow, often crossed by elk and other wildlife. By evening, the day slows around the fire, and the body settles into rest.

The practices from Take a Shot at Happiness unfold throughout the day—reflection while walking, photography as a way of noticing, conversations that arise from what people are experiencing rather than planning. With fewer demands on your attention, listening becomes easier.

Here, health is felt through space and presence. You begin to recognize what supports your energy, focus, and steadiness when the pace of life changes. You leave with a clearer understanding of what helps you feel well and what no longer needs your energy.

Botswana Untamed: A Journey Into the Wild

March 7 - 19, 2026 | Group Size: 8 | Inquire About Cost​

In the Okavango Delta, life follows the movement of water, light, and wildlife rather than schedules. You travel by mokoro through narrow channels, watch elephants move across open floodplains, and begin to notice how little effort it takes to stay present when nothing urges you to rush.

With fewer demands on your attention, thinking becomes simpler. The body responds to the natural order around you — your breath settles, the senses open, and rest comes more easily. Time spent observing the land brings a steady sense of orientation. You are seeing more clearly.

Here, attention has room to settle. Thoughts that once felt urgent lose their grip. What remains feels essential and true. Health is experienced through alignment with your own pace and with a landscape that does not compete for your attention.

You leave the Delta carrying that steadiness with you, long after you step away from the water.

Book

​Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct & Produce the Life You Want is a creative guide to paying closer attention to how you live your days. The companion app offers a simple place to record reflections, save images, and revisit moments that help you understand what supports your wellbeing.

Used alongside the practices shared here, it becomes a way to track your inner life over time — what steadies you, what drains you, and what brings you back into alignment with yourself.

Book Endorsement

If this work has supported you in any way, I would appreciate you sharing your experience with others on a platform you trust.

Article

In my first Best Holistic Life article of the year, I explore How Thoughts Shape Your Health and Healing. As January invites many people looking to change their habits, this reflection offers a different starting point. Look beyond goals and routines to discover a deeper relationship between your mind, body, and the life you are living.

Podcast Highlight

Speaking of healthy habits, walking remains one of my simplest and most meaningful practices. I use the Charity Miles app to track my walks and turn each step into something that gives back. I joined their Extra Mile podcast to talk about happiness, health, and how small, consistent choices can create lasting impact.

Giving Back

Explore projects that heal communities, protect wildlife, and restore hope.

Support a cause you care about: → Charity Checks | Great Plains Foundation | MicoAid | Stand Up To Cancer​

Recommended

Productivity Desktop App

Unlock what is possible with the Sukha community. Connect with a like-minded circle of motivated individuals, gain clarity, and stay on track in our inspiring virtual co-working space. Begin your 14-day free trial and see how focused support can help you thrive.

May your awareness support you as the year unfolds.

With love,
Maria
Your Fellow Happiness Explorer

These reflections are part of Take a Shot at Happiness—a living exploration of how we think, feel, and choose our way through life. They sit alongside my work designing Sojourn Explorers journeys, where the same values are experienced through place, presence, and meaningful travel.

P.S. ✨If this reflection feels worth sharing, you are welcome to pass it along.
If you are that friend, welcome — you can sign up to receive these reflections each month:

P.P.S. 💖 My Insight Timer meditations — live and recorded — remain available whenever you want space to pause and reconnect.

Maria Baltazzi​
PhD, Conscious-Centered Living | MFA, Film
​Emmy-winning TV Producer | Award-winning Author | Happiness Explorer​
​Conscious Luxury Travel Designer​
​Transformational Travel Council Advisor + Herald​
​Explorers Club Fellow National Member​
Seven Continent Marathon Walker

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Hi! I'm Alec, an outdoor writer, photographer, and content creator. Alec Sills-Trausch Alec is a landscape photographer and outdoors storyteller with a zeal for pushing boundaries in the wild. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, and visiting remote places, allowing him to photograph locations the rest of the world shies away from. In addition, Alec loves to write about his travels and craft articles that help educate and inspire others to find their joy in nature. Subscribe​

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