A lesson in how doing nothing can be everything you need.

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Yesterday afternoon I arrived in San Diego, a few days ahead of the start of our annual Baja EcoWarrior Retreat.

This is a few more days than I typically take before heading down to the Vermilion Sea Field Station, but I was deeply feeling the pull for some additional time away from the usual day-to-day bustle.

Having these extra days, my plan was to use the time to its fullest extent to explore new areas of San Diego, eat delicious food, try some new ciders, relax by the waves, and make the absolute most of these days.

But yesterday, I got off the plane, called a Lyft, and arrived at the CUTEST little Airbnb I could've imagined. It's a poolhouse in a couple's backyard that's just 120 square feet with an attached, basically outdoor bathroom and shower. As I write this, I'm sitting at the small desk in front of the poolside windows, the French doors open to the breeze on my right, and the pool outside creating the most relaxing soundtrack.

When I got here, I had every intention of changing out of my travel clothes and heading to the beach.

But instead, seemingly out of my control, all my body wanted to do was lie down on the bed and take a long, deep nap. And when I woke up, the idea of being around a bunch of people sounded like the very last thing I wanted to do.

I suddenly realized that I have been living in extrovert mode for the last three months. I've been traveling, meeting new people, making new friends and exploring new places. I haven't really slowed down.

I'm about as introverted as they come, but these last three months you would have never guessed it. I nearly forgot it myself.

So arriving in a new place, completely away from product inventory, house chores, and the people I spend all my time with, everything in my soul told me to stop moving.



And yet, I felt guilty.

I just flew all the way to San Diego and now I'm here and...what? I'm just gonna lay in bed all night?

I texted a friend about it, and his response was so simple and yet everything I needed in that moment.

Give yourself permission to do whatever you want, even if that's laying in bed and by the pool. The only one judging you is you.

Well damn. Ain't that the truth.

The only one judging you is you.

How often is that the case for all of us? How often do we feel that we "should" be doing something else - or just doing something - when every molecule in our body is telling us no?

It's all a construct. This whole thing is made up. Time isn't real and credit scores apparently don't exist in Portugal (a new fun fact I recently learned).

So today I'm saying screw it. Screw the "shoulds" of the world. Screw the internal guilt and judgment. Screw external validation and expectation.

Today is for me.

Today I am choosing to honor my introversion. My inner world. My intuition. My need for a deep slowing down.

Today I honor me.

And I invite you to do the same.

P. S. If you've ever been curious if I actually use the products we sell at A Drop in the Ocean, my Airbnb bathroom shelf has made my laugh out loud to myself multiple times already because it's completely lined with ADITO products. There's not a single bathroom product I brought with me that I don't sell in the shop. I even made a collection in the shop of everything I've brought with me, in case you, too, are traveling soon and could use some zero waste, travel-friendly essentials. Check it out here :)