Hello Sojourners,

This March marks a year ago that I was standing in front of a TV at my Pilgrim Media Group office in Los Angeles. I heard Mayor Garcetti tell us to go home and stay there for a while. No one knew then that we would only be just beginning with a vaccine twelve months later.

So much has happened during this time of COVID. Perhaps ignited and made more urgent, more relevant because we are mostly confined in our homes and neighboring areas with our thoughts and emotions on high alert. Black Lives Matter, Social Injustice, Democratic Freedom, Climate Change all came crashing forward. We have found new ways to work at home, pivot our businesses, and even launch the next space era. The bar for our global consciousness has been raised to new heights. We want to be more thoughtful stewards of our world and ourselves. I have found that people are kinder, more patient, and willing to help. Many have understood that it is okay to slow down, and we should. We should slow down to call our moms. We should slow down to hike in nature. We should slow down to enjoy our daily bread.

This month also marks the change in our season. In the northern hemisphere, we step out of winter and into spring. Seeds for a new season are being planted. I can hear the gardeners outside my window now. What seeds will you grow for the coming months? What would you like to see bloom? Hopefully, this edition of 8 Good Things will give you some inspiration.

8 Good Things is a curated newsletter of inspirational and informational articles, videos, and quotes. If my thoughts about an article or video interest you, please click the ‘source’ button (e.g., NEW YORKER) to learn more. If you come across a story you would like me to consider sharing, please send it to explorer@sojourn-intl.com. This newsletter comes out once every three weeks. 

10 Career Coaches Offer Advice for Navigating Today’s Evolving Workforce

While this article is pointed toward women, men can benefit from its expert guidance as well. The ninth bit of advice resonated a lot with me, reframing how you think about yourself. I am a big advocate for this. When you are feeling down, make a list of your accomplishments, values, and priorities. It will remind you that you already have a lot going for you. Lean in to what you have versus what you do not. Your glass is half full, really, it is.

3 Ways to Improve Your Sex Life in Lockdown

Who does not want better sex during or post lockdown?

Don’t Under Estimate the Power of a Walk

Darwin, Nietzsche, Wordsworth, and Aristotle all shared one thing in common. They walked obsessively to generate their best ideas. As someone who has been a distance walker for about thirteen years, I agree with and have benefited from much of what this article professes. I think more clearly, have less anxiety, and sleep better. I walk a lot, plus I have a consistent meditation practice. The two in combination can do wonders for your overall wellbeing. I am walking proof of this.

Norma Kamali’s 8 Truths for Loving Yourself, Staying Relevant, and
‘Aging with Power’

Yeah, what she said! Do not ask me my age, and I do not want to know yours. Age is just a number. What counts is how you live.

What You Can Learn From Your
Happiness Alter Ego

The article’s premise is that one’s approach to happiness can be found within two ancient Greek philosophers’ teachings. People tend to lean toward one school of thought or the other. Epicurus, who prescribed happiness through pleasure, or Epictetus, who defined happiness through virtue. How you pursue happiness can be both a window into who you are and help you create a path to a more balanced life. Interesting ancient insights brought forward into modern times.

How Does Matter Give Rise to Consciousness?

30 Trips to Plan a Year in Advance

This will give some inspiration for when you are ready to take out your passport again. Top on the list is the Great Migration in Kenya. That is where I am heading! I miss Africa. Other places highlighted are a cruise down the Nile in Egypt, Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, seeing Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and more.

The Writing of An Earth Lover

This is a poignant love letter about our planet written by an environmental activist who connects us to our world through her cancer. To learn more about this writer’s organization Dragon Dreaming, click here. Also, I am a longtime supporter of Stand Up To Cancer. If this video inspires you to donate to a cancer cause, here is my fundraising page.

Sojourn Programs

I have anticipated the Gross Global Happiness Summit hosted through the United Nations’ University for Peace in Costa Rica for months. I am speaking on March 13th at 2:45 PM Central Standard Time. As you can imagine, most of us will be attending virtually. I am still excited to have been asked to talk about my two favorite subjects, Happiness and Travel! If you are interested in attending,
click here.

I am guiding LIVE meditations on the Insight Timer app. Come sit with me! You can also join my meditation circle. Meditation is our Wellbeing Silver Bullet.

I write video content for this mindfulness productivity app. It is designed to help you reach a Flow State while you work. You can use the app to organize your day’s tasks. They also play music to keep you focused as you work, or you can bring in your own Spotify playlist. At the start of each day, the app offers videos with productivity tips, inspiring quotes, and mindfulness techniques to help you work smarter. Check it out.

Sojourn Getaways

Camino De Santiago  |  Spain

September 19th – 29th, 2021

I really love this pilgrimage. I genuinely think what you experience on this journey is a metaphor for how life can and should be lived – with a warm, welcoming heart. I have thoughtfully curated a transformative journey covering the last 100 kilometers of the Camino’s most popular route, The French Way. I also chose this route because it is doable for almost anyone, no matter their age.

Picture Perfect Holistic Safari  |  Zambia + Malawi

November 8th – 19th, 2021

I have partnered with our Zambia + Malawi specialist to curate and guide a photographic safari that combines everything you want in an African adventure through a mindfulness lens. Please join me for this unique small group sojourn. It will give you something to look forward to this year!

Arctic Quest   |   North Pole

Launches 2023

This pioneer’s adventure to the North Pole in a modern airship is getting a lot of attention. It is one of the most extraordinary and unique travel experiences you will ever have in your life. Many travel dates are already sold out! The airship has eight cabins and can accommodate up to sixteen passengers. Prices will go up the closer we get to the launch in 2023. If you are interested, book now.

Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru  |  Maldives

Forty Percent Discount Offer

Dive into some of the most beautiful waters in the world. The Maldives’ nation islands is an archipelagic state in South Asia with one thousand one hundred and ninety-two islands, located in the Arabian Sea’s turquoise waters. If this sounds dreamy, because it is. This paradise has been open to travelers since July 15th, 2020. Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru has gone to great lengths to ensure your stay is safe, protected, and sublime. You can also split your trip with other resorts. I am happy to curate an experience that is the perfect social distancing getaway — here is one possibility.

Special Guest Invitation | Through January 2022

Forty percent off all room types when you book before March 31st, 2021

Blackout dates, December 24th, 2021 – January 5th, 2022


Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge | N. Serengeti, Tanzania

Magnificent wide open spaces, teeming with elephants and big cats. On my last trip to Tanzania, I saw more wildlife at Kuria Hills than any other camp, which is saying a lot. There was an abundance of wildlife throughout that trip, though this location in particular. We had a chance to see a family of cheetah cubs, so sweet.

Special Guest Invitations | Through March 2022

Twenty-five percent discount for stays of four nights or more.

Fifty percent discount on the second night for stays of two or three nights.

First child (5-15yrs) sharing a room with one or more adults is complimentary.

Honeymoon Special

Groom’s first night is complimentary. The bride enjoys a fifty percent discount with a minimum five-night stay. 

The Great Elephant Adventure  |  Kenya

Amboseli National Park + Laikipia Plateau +  Maasai Mara 

12 Days  |  Choose Your Dates

The Kenyan bush is an awe-inspiring sensory landscape that is humbling to experience. The most iconic way to travel is to move every few days and set camp like the old explorers, except with more creature comforts. I am offering an extraordinary photographic mobile safari camp experience that can be curated to your desires. No detail is too small or unimportant. This adventure is perfect for families and small groups.

Sojourn Cares

Between May 17th and Thanksgiving, 2020, I walked 1000 Charity Miles for Stand Up To Cancer. I took to the foothills in my Los Angeles backyard. I hiked almost every day to support patients and caregivers with COVID-19. On Christmas Day, I pledged to walk another 1000 Charity Miles. So far, I have  walked almost 320 miles.

My fundraising page from the last 1000 miles is still open. Every donation is meaningful to those in need. Bless you for caring.

Picture Perfect

Winners of the 2020 Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest

Surreally stunning.

Art & Science of Happiness in Action

Expressive Writing

Over four days, find the time, each day, to continuously write for twenty minutes your deepest thoughts and emotions about a profound shift in your life. Take this time to really explore the situation in your life and how it is affecting you. The invitation is to write from your heart without worrying about grammar or spelling. Just express yourself. This is only about you for you.

Why this works: Writing this way allows space and breath to reflect on your life. It helps to transform a messy experience into a coherent story that feels more manageable.

Time Required: 20 minutes  |  Frequency: 1x per day for 4 consecutive days

Courageously Grateful

Thoughtful

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
~ Ella Fitzgerald

“Writing for me is thinking, and it’s also a way to position myself in the world, particularly when I don’t like what’s going on.”

~ Toni Morrison

Stay safe. Stay well.

Maria Baltazzi

ABOUT

Every three weeks, we bring you eight big ideas to help you live better.

Each edition selects topics that reflect The Sojourn Experience’s desire to serve the greater good, both inwardly and outwardly. We are a conscious-centered company with three portfolio brands. The first is Picture Happiness: Take a Shot, which focuses on the art and science of happiness and mindfulness. The second is Sojourn Explorers, which curates transformational travel experiences to extraordinary places around the globe. Part of the money for each trip goes to nonprofit organizations we support. The Sojourn Media Group looks to create partnerships with writers, producers, and directors to get their projects sold to production companies and various platforms.

Special thanks to Astrid Martin, article and video content research, and Michael Tobias, editorial review and formatting, for their ongoing contributions to 8 Good Things.

Let us know your favorite things from this week.

Share how your perspective changed this week.