March Reflections • Scheduled Surrender

#04 | March 2025

Last Month, In a Thought

Standing there, ankles firmly planted in the Seminyak shoreline as waves retreated and returned, a thought crystallized:

The waves kiss my ankles, retreat, and return; an unhurried rhythm that makes time feel irrelevant. The sky burns with the kind of gold that turns thoughts to whispers, problems to dust, and the vastness of it all makes life's problems diminish for a moment.

If the sunset lasted three hours, I'd stand here for every second.

A rare slice of presence where the constant chatter in my head finally went quiet.

March brought me through four corners of Bali, each showing me a different flavour of that stillness. Some planned, most accidental. But before we get to that moment on the beach, let me show you how I got there.

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🌿 The Unexpected Fullness of Ubud

After Singapore, I landed in Ubud with zero plans—a stark departure from my usual thoughtful itineraries. I just wanted to relax, maybe find some bliss.

Instead, I found myself swept into a different kind of rhythm.

COMO Uma Ubud became my base, a sanctuary where exceptional service made everything feel effortless. Beyond its walls though, Ubud was chaos; some of the worst traffic I've ever encountered, a constant reminder of why you need to escape the center to find the real Bali.

And escape I did. With private guides (turns out a full day of expert local knowledge costs less than dinner back home), I ventured beyond the tourist traps.

One day led me to a waterfall. The rushing water called to something primitive in me, beyond thought. When I finally stepped under the cascade, letting it hammer my shoulders, I found a kind of joy that defies explanation - the rare gift of absolute presence.

I planted myself under that waterfall for what must've been 20 minutes, completely ignoring the growing queue of Instagram warriors behind me who were simmering with impatience to get their perfect shot.

Sorry not sorry…

Besides…I like to think I added some authentic "guy finding his zen" ambiance to their photos.

Sometimes ROI just means Remaining Obliviously Immersed while the Instagram queue grows behind you. 🌊

The days filled themselves: temple ceremonies, rice terraces, outdoor cafes, and daily 90-120 min spa sessions that transcended religious experiences. They were basically a stairway to heaven with an express elevator back to earth when time was up.

I didn't “plan” any of it, but somehow each day wrote its own script. 🙏

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🕊️ The Unnamed Village

Some places deserve to stay hidden. I have a few of these "happy places" scattered across the globe—corners where the Instagram machine hasn't yet trampled the tranquility. This one, about 90 minutes east of Ubud, stays private. (Though I might be persuaded to share its location for the right price. And by right price, I mean "fund my early retirement" kind of price. 😉)

The hotel was small, just 20 villas surrounded by electric-green rice fields. A sanctuary where luxury met simplicity.

The hotel restaurant, with its teak beams and glass walls, felt like dining in a treehouse. Every meal stretched to an hour, minimum. Rushing would have insulted the view.

I had grand plans for all this serenity: writing, planning, maybe some profound life decisions. But, none of that happened…

Each day dissolved into its own rhythm: breakfast stretching to an hour, followed by a 90-minute spa ritual that sent me floating back to my villa. By the time I'd emerge, lunch called. 💆‍♂️

Afternoons belonged to 3-hour scooter tours, weaving through rice terraces that made Ubud's famous fields look amateur. We'd stop at textile makers' homes where generations-old techniques lived on and discover roads Google Maps hadn't found yet.

I'd launch my drone at golden hour, capturing landscapes that looked too perfect to be real. 📸

I even found myself doing guided outdoor meditation sessions. Turns out an hour of meditation becomes possible when you're surrounded by rustling palms and distant bird calls.

Speaking of happy places, when I'm not actually in one, I've discovered Wander.com works like prescription-strength happiness. One scroll through their properties and suddenly I’m mentally teleported to a ‘happy place’.

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🏖️ Seminyak: Finding Stillness

I chose Seminyak for one reason: beach access without Canggu's party chaos. What I found at Potato Head Studios surprised me, an accidental booking into one of the world's top 50 hotels. The suite showcased attention to detail I didn't know I needed, down to the in-room bartender service.

Between spa sessions and getting my first-ever mani-pedi (who knew my hands and feet could look this good? 💅), I settled into a rhythm of intentional nothing.

Hours-long walks along the shoreline became my evening ritual.

As the days melted together, I found myself drawn to that spot where the waves kiss the shore. Just me, my thoughts, and water that couldn't care less about my problems and to-do lists. One of these walks produced that moment I opened with, when everything aligned just right and my mind finally went quiet.

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🌊 Uluwatu: A Brief Epilogue

Uluwatu wasn't my scene.

Unless you're into surfing (I'm not), there's not much that warrants attention there. Sure, the resort was enormous (100 acres of carefully manicured everything), and yes, the infinity pool overlooking the ocean was nice. But sometimes a place just doesn't click, and that's okay.

After two weeks exploring Bali, two things stood out.

First, the food scene didn’t impress to the extent I had hoped. Look, I'm the person who plans trips around restaurants, who'll spend hours reading reviews in three different languages to find gems. I have high culinary standards to say the least.

But despite hitting everything from high-end restaurants to local warungs, nothing quite hit that transcendent 9.5/10 level. You know, the kind of meal that haunts your dreams and demands return pilgrimages.

The food was consistently good, don't get me wrong. But that magical dish or restaurant that makes you rebook your flight? After two weeks of searching, I didn’t find it. 🍜

What Bali does better than anywhere else, though, is hospitality. I've experienced "great service" before: Thailand's warmth, Japan's friendliness, Singapore's efficiency.

But Bali? They're playing a different game. It's not just service; there seems to be genuine care that redefines what hospitality can be. Every interaction, from luxury resorts to private drivers, sets a new 10/10 global benchmark that makes everywhere else feel like they're working with a 7-point scale.

The drivers kept telling me about places I need to explore next time: Amed's black sand beaches, Munduk's mountain temples. Their enthusiasm was contagious enough that I was already plotting my return before I'd even left.

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Back Home: Finding Stillness Without a Passport

A week after returning, something clicked into place. There I was on hospital calls until 11 PM, juggling crashing patients amid the usual circus of nursing errors and systemic incompetence—the kind of shift (or shit) that normally drives me up the wall. 💩

But this time, I felt calm. The familiar triggers—missed orders, pointless interruptions, the entire parade of hospital inefficiency—couldn't find purchase. Not in some ethereal zen way, but in this rare state where my mind just processed everything at the right frequency.

Those small frustrations that usually stick around like mental velcro, replaying themselves hours later? They'd slide right off.

Between consults, I was knocking out major projects with a clarity I'd been hunting for months. For the first time in ages, my mind felt defragged.

It wasn't happiness exactly. Nothing amazing had happened. I just felt... clear and calibrated.

My vital signs told the story: HRV up, resting heart rate down, and after several 10-hour sleep nights, my battery finally showed 100%.

I thought this state of mind might last at two weeks. It lasted five days…just enough time to believe I'd finally cracked the code before my brain said "cute, but no..." 😩

The real question is: how does one create the conditions where this state of mind can linger without needing a passport?

For now, I'll settle for what I can control: perfect outfits. (As a mirror in Bali reminded me, "Life isn't perfect but your outfit can be." Finally, a philosophy I can get behind. 👔

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On Repeat 🔁

Because every good trip needs a soundtrack, here are the songs I couldn't stop playing on my flight home:

1. The Door - Teddy Swims

2. Bad Dreams - Teddy Swims

3. Hammer to the Heart - Teddy Swims

4. Devil in a Dress - Teddy Swims

5. Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars

6. I’m The Problem - Morgan Wallen

7. Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift

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Experiments in Motion 🔬

Somewhere over the Pacific at 35,000 feet (because apparently that's what it takes to force me to sit still and think), I pulled out my iPad and did what I always do after trips: tried to make sense of the 50 million things competing for my attention.

It's this moment of forced stillness where I can finally zoom out and see the whole mess clearly. ✈️

Every major pillar of life gets its own color-coded list: physical health (already stuffed with training protocols), mental wellbeing (still figuring that one out), business ventures, creative projects. Each one spawns its own universe of sub-tasks, each of those branching into more tasks, until my iPad looks like a deranged mind map. 📝

But this time, I added something new: "Emotional/Joy Pursuits." Things done purely for their own sake. No ROI calculations. No optimization angle. Just... enjoyment. (Yes, I see the irony in systematizing spontaneity. Let me have this.)

Speaking of joy pursuits, I finally tried boxing in Bali. One session was enough to show me why I've been drawn to it for years. It demands everything at once: precision, speed, strength, technique. Each jab is a test of your weaknesses - footwork, timing, coordination, endurance. Something about that technical precision combined with raw physicality just clicks with how my brain works. 🥊

Adding it to my weekly schedule is another puzzle entirely. Between three days of lifting, three days of running, and a sleep schedule that's more "aspirational" than actual, where exactly does another pursuit fit?

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Sweat Equity

20+ days on the road meant getting creative with training. The hotels had decent gyms (a non-negotiable when booking these days), so the lifting stayed mostly on track.

But running in Bali? Forget it. That's when you realize how much your environment dictates training. No sidewalks, roads barely wide enough for cars – try explaining to Strava why you're logging zero outdoor miles.

So…treadmill life it was.

Between jet lag turning my sleep schedule into performance art and humidity that felt like training in soup, my usual intensity wasn't happening. But I adapt. 💪

Workouts Logged: 24/31 days active

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The Next Stop (Maybe…)✈️

June has me plotting another escape. There's a conference in Cannes calling my name, but why stop at the French Riviera? My mind has been mapping routes through Europe, hunting for the next pocket of stillness.

Europe has become somewhat unbearable with the over-tourism in the last few years. Where's Thanos when you need him? One snap and suddenly those overcrowded spots become "hidden gems" again. 👌

But, Switzerland's Bernese Oberland (Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken) has been on my mind for years. It's expensive enough to make my credit card weep, but those Alpine views might justify the financial trauma. 🏔️

If you're reading this and any part of that itinerary sounds appealing, drop me a message.

In the interim, the real work intensifies. building out my longevity writings that needs to hit the perfect balance between accessibility and depth, pressure-testing a few business ideas I have in mind, and strategically distributing content that actually moves the needle. My clinical world spans institutions like its own empire, each with distinct politics and relationships to navigate. One thread left untended, and years of careful calibration start to unravel.

And since these memes might explain it better than I can – it's either travel or watch my sanity slowly dissolve. Plus, my toxic trait is apparently not being able to visit just one country at a time. But hey, at least I'm self-aware about it. 😅 ¹ If the world was ending, I'd wanna be next to you. If the party was over and our time on earth was through, I'd wanna hold you just for a ride.

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