Life today feels louder, faster, and harder to filter than ever before. Even those of us who avoid constant news feeds and endless scrolling find ourselves pulled into the chaos. But is calm still something we can choose, or has it become a luxury we have to fight for? In this reflection, Leigh William shares a family journey across Europe that revealed a rare sense of peace, only to be met with the world’s mounting tension at every stop. The question that lingers is simple yet pressing: can we still carve out calm in a world addicted to noise?

You don’t need proof to walk away—just a feeling that something isn’t right. After decades of travel and sailing with strangers, I’ve learned that the most important safety tool I carry is my own intuition. In this post, I share the personal safety standards I’ve practiced for years, and how they helped me navigate a recent situation that could have turned dangerous. If you travel solo or sail with new crews, this one's for you.

👉 Read: Personal Safety Standards for Travelers

Ever ignored that quiet inner voice telling you something was off?

What started as a hopeful sailing opportunity turned into a situation that tested every boundary. In this post, I share what happened, what I learned, and why listening to your gut is never a mistake.

👉 Read: When Your Gut Says Go: Learning to Walk Away

Many thanks to Unsplash Edgar Chaparro

@echaparro for the image up above.

I wanted this trip to be about new places, about adventure, about the lightness of movement and discovery. A travel journal, filled with café stops and charming streets, salty sea air and sunsets over unfamiliar horizons. But the truth is, we don’t always get to decide what takes up space in our hearts.

Because here I am, standing at an airport gate, unable to shake the image of a young woman leaning into the man beside her, fragile but determined, taking step after step toward something unknown. And here I am, once again, feeling the weight of a battle I fought nearly a decade ago, a battle I have spent years healing from, releasing, making peace with. Yet, no matter how much time passes, some moments pull me right back.

This journey has been a series of reminders—not of where I’m going, but of where I’ve been. And no matter how much I try to keep this journal lighthearted, the truth insists on being written. Because sometimes, travel isn’t just about places. Sometimes, it’s about what we carry with us, even when we think we’ve left it behind.