A Pause in Paradise – What Bali Taught Me About Time

Slowing Down to Feel It All

I’ve been in Bali lately—off the grid, off the clock, and out of the usual rhythm. And something shifted.

In the quiet in-between moments—between the jungle air and sea breeze, between the nasi goreng and the sound of scooters—I felt a pause that I didn’t know I needed. A deep, spacious kind of stillness that reminded me of something simple but often forgotten: I have more time than I think I do.

Time to slow down.
Time to savour the little things.
Time to step back from the hustle, the striving, the endless to-do lists.

And instead…
To sit longer with my morning coffee.
To watch the light move across a wall.
To really listen to the people I love.
To be where my feet are.

This break has been less about making art and more about remembering why I make it in the first place. Not for productivity. Not for perfection. But for connection. For meaning. For the chance to create something that moves me—or someone else—just a little.

In the end, I know this:
What I’ll remember won’t be the deadlines I met or the social posts I missed.
It’ll be the dinners that stretch into late-night laughter.
The art that left a mark.
The moments that felt entirely mine.

So, here’s to taking the long way. To leaving space. To giving ourselves permission to pause.

And if you’re feeling the pull to slow down too, I hope you’ll listen.

With warmth from Bali,

Tracy Lee