The Kind of Peace You Do Not Want to Leave: Greece, Zanzibar, Nepal
Happy Sunday!
There are certain moments on a trip when I can feel my whole system settle.
For me, this often happens outdoors, in a wide-open place where the land seems to keep going farther than my eyes can follow. The wind presses against my body. The sun sits low in the sky and bathes everything in that warm, honey-colored glow I never get tired of seeing. More often than not, I am somewhere in Africa, looking across an endless landscape with nothing blocking the view.
I feel free there.
That kind of Peace has a different quality to it. It is less about calm and more about release. Something in you stops bracing. You are no longer trying to improve the moment, capture every detail, or decide what it means. You are simply present enough to let it reach you.
I think that is why certain trips stay with us. Of course, the place matters. Africa matters to me in a deeply personal way. A way that is sensual and grounding, with enough space to hear myself think again. Bhutan holds a different kind of stillness, one that is sacred. Nepal offers a wide sky over mountains so grand it humbles you. Each place has its own way of working on you.
Yet the deeper gift of travel is what it reveals once the usual pressures fall away. You may realize how rarely you let a moment be complete. You may notice how often your mind is already reaching for the next thing. You may feel, perhaps for the first time in a long while, that nothing else is required.
That is the kind of Peace, I think, we all want to bring home.
Home rarely offers the same open space, especially if you live in a crowded urban area like I do. There are errands, emails, family needs, work decisions, and all the small demands that pull your attention in different directions. Even so, you can return to the feeling by changing the way you meet what is in front of you.
You do it when you allow breakfast to be breakfast, without mentally leaving the table. You do it when a walk becomes something you experience rather than something you fit into your day. You do it when you give a conversation enough room to become honest.
That is the part I want to bring home: the way I was able to meet a moment and simply be in it.
So, the question I offer you is this:
What creates that sense of inner Peace for you? The moment when you feel settled, spacious, and free.
PHOTO OP + ACTION OPPORTUNITY
Stay Here
Photo Credit: Jana Al Mubaslat
Photo Op
Take a photo in a moment when you notice you are not rushing. Nothing staged or planned. Just where you are, as you are. The only thing that matters is that you felt yourself settle and chose to stay there a little longer.
Action Opportunity
Come back to the photo later.
Instead of writing about what you see, write about what allowed that moment to happen. What was different in you? What was not pulling at you? What made it possible to remain where you were without needing anything else?
Keep it simple and honest. A few sentences is enough.
Then, sometime this week, give yourself that same condition again, even briefly, and notice what changes when you do.
Journeys Where Peace Has Room to Arrive
If you want to experience this in a way that is hard to access at home, this is where I would begin.
Featured · Nepal
Take a Shot at Happiness Nepal, December 2026
Dec 8 – 14, 2026 · 7 Days · All-Inclusive · Limited to 16 guests
Nepal has a way of changing your sense of scale.
You wake to mountain air, walk through sacred courtyards, sit in places where prayer has been part of daily life for centuries, and give yourself time to take in what is around you.
This journey combines reflective practices, camera phone photography, journaling, and enough room in the day to let the experience land.
People come when they are ready to feel more present in their days, more settled in themselves, and clearer about what deserves their attention now.
Some journeys slow you down. Others change what you notice.
Journey 01 · Greece
Sail + Hike
For those who prefer a day that unfolds rather than one that is scheduled.
Greece has a way of drawing people in. This year, more than most. I get it. I have always been drawn to the siren calls of the Mediterranean.
What I like about this experience is the way you move through it. Your days begin on the water. You wake with the light, have a simple breakfast, and step onto land to walk. Not to cover distance, though to feel where you are. The terrain. The heat. The open views. The small details you would miss if you were moving too fast.
You pass through villages, stop when something catches your eye, and keep going without needing to turn the day into a checklist.
Then you return to the sea. You swim, eat, rest, and let the afternoon be what it is.
Greece gives you its beauty, its history, everywhere you turn. It gives you enough time to notice where you are and stay there a little longer.
For travelers ready to stop moving and let a place meet them.
This is the kind of place that asks you to arrive with less hurry. I dream of the creamy white sand and clear aquamarine waters in this part of the world.
Set just off Zanzibar’s coast, this adults-only lodge feels almost suspended between ocean, sky, and tide. You come for the privacy, the Indian Ocean views, the feeling of being slightly removed from everything, and the pleasure of a meal that lets the island speak through local flavors and fresh ingredients.
The experience is simple in the best way. Good food, attentive service, sea air, and the sense that the day can unfold without being overplanned. It is intimate, relaxed, and naturally beautiful.
Since opening in 2018, The Island has become one of those places that stays with you because of how it feels to be there.
Travel by June 6, 2026 Receive 20% off the room rate plus a free upgrade to Full Board.
For the journeys I personally host, the experience continues after you return home. Your trip includes my happiness online course, Take a Shot at Happiness: A Happiness Explorer’s Journey (a $997 value), to help you stay connected to what you noticed once you return home.
Why Travel with Me
I pay attention to how you spend your time while you are away. What you notice when there is room to see clearly. How you move when your days are no longer overfilled. This is travel for people who care about how they live.
I write this newsletter for people who love travel and who care about how it changes them.
These notes are part of an ongoing conversation about how we travel and how we return. Each issue includes a simple practice inspired by my book Take a Shot at Happiness — photography and a few lines of writing — to help you notice what is worth keeping.
Sign up for Maria Baltazzi’s Take a Shot at Happiness newsletter for practical ways to bring more happiness and meaning into your life. An award-winning author and happiness explorer, Maria shares science-backed tools to shift unproductive thoughts, stay inspired, and grow in fulfilling ways. Her book, Take a Shot at Happiness, has won multiple awards, including the Independent Press, NYC Big Book, and Nautilus Book Awards. She uniquely integrates camera phone photography and journaling as tools for self-reflection and personal growth. Each issue offers insightful advice, uplifting quotes, and simple ways to enhance your wellbeing. Join a community that values purpose, creativity, and happiness.
