Ritual 06: Staying grounded away from home
How to feel human after 22 hours in transit
I’m writing to you from the Four Seasons in Maui. It’s 3 PM here, but my body does not know which dimension it’s in. I was just starting to warm up to Daylight Savings Time in NYC, then I went backwards five hours in time.
Getting here took twenty-two hours and three planes: JFK to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Seattle, Seattle to Maui. By the end, I was questioning my grip on reality. It was the longest travel day of my life, and I’ve been to Japan, Istanbul, and remote islands in the Adriatic.
But the energy here is vivacious, and I’m embracing it. I’m giving a keynote on social media at a luxury real estate conference on the island, talking about the pressure to build a personal brand and what it’s really like when that becomes your full-time job. The boundaries broken, the lessons learned, and how I view this career post-book.
Clearly, so many people feel the pressure to be online that one of the largest real estate conferences requested I speak on the topic.
I’m only here for a minute so there is no use in resting. I’m diving right in. Despite the long travel day, I feel so lucky to be here. I woke up at 4:30 and talked to Jack on the phone before rolling out of bed and tending to my sore tailbone. I know I’m beating a dead horse here but sitting for 22 hours really makes your back feel like it belongs to an 80-year-old. I thought for today’s ritual post I’d talk about all the little rituals I do to tend, care, and ground—a.k.a. bring myself back to life after a marathon travel day.
Hand washing + air drying plane clothes: As soon as I got to the hotel, I threw my plane pants into the sink with a single Grove laundry sheet I’d brought from home. Plane pants see things—things that can never be unseen. The airplane bathroom floor alone should disqualify them from re-wear status, so this simple act of care and thinking ahead gives me pure serotonin. My plane pants are the Vuori wide-leg Halo pants and they are most definitely the softest, most buttery pants while also feeling ~chic~.
Comfy travel pants of the year. 
Said pants drying on the lanai immediately after a handwash post-flight. Now they smell like hawaii. Yoga: there’s nothing my body was calling for more this morning than stretching… a few cat cows, child pose, happy baby. I didn’t do a flow or class, but if I were to, I’d do this 23-minute Yoga for Travel by Adriene from my hotel room on a towel. You don’t always need a rubber mat for yoga. Don’t let a lack of the perfect setup prevent you from doing something good for yourself.
Meditating: 6 minutes on a pillow on the rug of my hotel room, timed on my iPhone. Not guided, no music, just quiet. It was the most grounding way to begin the trip. I’ve been feeling called to get back into a more rigid meditation practice (quiet, seated, timed, eyes closed) each morning. This morning reminded me why. It’s not about the absence of thoughts but about watching them come up and float away.
Hydration. Groundbreaking….I know. But travel days literally squeeze the moisture out of our bodies. I could literally feel my cells coming back to life as I drank a full bottle of water during my layovers and a few more before bed. The pressure in my head would release, my body would soften, and I’d feel my nervous system calm. Water is the GOAT.
Nothing gets me going like a filtered water station every 20 feet. Room service. I ordered room service for the first time in years last night. This felt like a gentle practice in reparenting, allowing myself to spend money on something I usually don’t even consider an option. But it was also as a favor to the public. Getting up at 4 AM and sitting on three separate planes rendered me physically and spiritually unfit to dine among humans. If you’d asked my name, I would’ve said “Gus” without hesitation. I looked like I’d seen a ghost. So I stayed in the privacy of my own room and ordered the “Balance Ahi Tuna Bowl” from the hotel iPad—marinated poke tuna over brown rice with edamame, scallions, and cucumbers. Worth the $57 price tag? Debatable. I fell asleep before it arrived and woke up to a doorbell song and a waitress in my room. I ate it half asleep but still relished in the occasion and couldn’t wait to tell Jack about it.
I was 75% asleep while eating this Making friends, talking to people, and being social. I’m finding everyone at this real estate conference fascinating. I went to the 6 AM sunrise service where we did a cleansing E Ala Ē chant, then joined a guided hike with the most hilarious, barefoot hippie guide and nine other attendees. By the end, I knew everyone’s name, industry, hometown, and a few of their favorite hobbies. This is one of the fastest (and free) ways to feel better about ourselves. Connecting, asking people about themselves, introducing ourselves, listening, and showing up for what’s being asked of us. I really do think opening ourselves up to people is the fastest way to change our lives: creatively, professionally, and spiritually.
That’s all for now. I’ve got to go to a private listing cocktail party and eat pupus before getting a good night’s sleep before my talk tomorrow. I wish everyone a beautiful weekend ahead. Let’s hope and pray my trip back is not as long and grueling.
Good luck at your talk! And sending all the smooth travel day vibes your way 💫