Just joking! Not every life experience needs to turn into a leadership lesson for a LinkedIn post.

We spent last week in the bush, devoid of meetings, cell signal, inboxes to triage or calendars to defend. The loudest sound I heard was the occasional comment from the back seat about who saw the lion first and the made-up singalongs about Ferdinand die Vlakvarkie.

I was with my husband and two stepkids. Conversations stretched out without interruption and the days filled themselves.

What struck me was how empty the space was, especially in my mind.

Thoughts I’d been avoiding or too busy to finish surfaced in this new surface in this new setting. Problems lost their sharp edges. I could look at them objectively; reflect on them.

There’s research behind this. Nature doesn’t demand the same kind of cognitive load modern life does. In its presence, the mind unwinds just enough to make space for insight. The effect is obvious. You feel it when it happens.

I also experience this when I walk my Great Dane, Sophia or at the end of a yoga class. A brief suspension of effort, and with it, the possibility of clarity.

So no leadership epiphany, just a reset.

Enjoy the pics!