Hey there,

Have you ever gone on a trip or spent time with someone and felt like you stepped into a time warp? Like the days moved at their usual pace, but the version of you who emerged on the other side was completely different? 

Similarly to how the Camino was for me, that’s how I feel about my time recently on Koh Phangan in Southern Thailand. 🏝️

I spent four weeks on that island, and yet, when I look at the person who arrived and the person who left, they are not the same. Somewhere between watching the sun melt into the ocean each evening and cruising on a scooter down jungle roads, I shed so many layers I no longer recognize myself in the best way possible.

But I didn’t go there expecting to change.

When I stepped off the ferry, all I knew was that I was desperate to escape the emotional pain I had been drowning in for months. Pain that clung to me and I desperately (and, admittedly, comfortably) to it no matter how hard I tried to move past it. But as I settled into life on the island, I realized I didn’t need to escape. What I needed was a place where my nervous system could breathe, where my soul felt safe enough to sit with everything I had been running from.

And the magic of that island gave me exactly that.

It gave me space to finally release and to rewrite parts of myself.

✨ I gained tools on how to return to my body and love her deeply, exactly as she is.
✨ I found confidence in my voice in moments where past versions of me would have stayed silent.
✨ I connected with people who felt like soul family, who saw me and laughed with me and got me.
✨ I danced around fires, under glowing moons, and felt the magic of uninhibited self-expression.
✨ I painted murals again, something that fills me with joy.
✨ I spent hours by the ocean reading, journaling, staring at the sky, doing absolutely nothing and learning that was enough.
✨ I confronted parts of my subconscious I once tried to ignore and spoke to myself with the grace of a best friend.
✨ I rode a scooter down winding roads, feeling the kind of freedom I once only dreamed about.
✨ I drank more mango smoothies and fresh coconut water than I can count.

🥭🥥

And one night, standing barefoot in the sand, staring at the glowing blue shimmer of bioluminescent plankton, something clicked.

I was crying because I felt everything so deeply.

I always have. And for the first time, I didn’t want to change that about myself.

For so long, I thought my emotions were too much. That feeling so intensely was a flaw I needed to fix. But the truth is, my sensitivity is not a burden. It’s my gift. And the more I lean into it, the more I realize that simply by being myself, I give others permission to do the same. 

So I want to leave you with these reflections:

🦋 My challenge to you last month was to take a leap you’ve been avoiding that might lead to a transformation. Have you taken a small action step toward it? What did that look like and how did you feel?
🦋 Where do you feel the most like yourself?
🦋 What would happen if you stopped resisting what you feel and started embracing it instead?

I know my own journey is far from over. I was silly to think a month on an island would be enough, but it was exactly what I needed before the next adventure.

Wherever you are on your path, I hope you give yourself the space to feel, to grow, to leap.

I hope you can make someone smile today.

Holly x

🌏 P.S., I was able to stay on Koh Phangan for a month entirely for FREE during the high season by doing work exchanges through WorldPackers. Use code ALTAADVENTURES for $10 off your subscription if you’re curious about traveling and working yourself!

🍿 P.P.S., If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, you can catch up on Steps to the Soul in each episode or the full video. Grab some popcorn and snuggle up!