There’s something that happens when you sleep outside in nature.
Not a resort with a tent-shaped room and a minibar. I mean actually sleeping outside, where the zip of the tent is the only thing between you and whatever the island has planned.
This Easter, my friend Michelle and I camped in Grand Cayman. And I’m still thinking about it days later. Not because it was luxurious or extraordinary, but because it was simple in a way I’d forgotten life could be.
Looking out onto that Caribbean turquoise water. The sun rising early, like it was waking the island up before anyone else. The sunset on the horizon — one of the most beautiful places to watch one. And then the full moon making a surprise appearance over the trees.
I’m not going to lie, it was a lot of work. Preparing the ground, pitching a six-person tent, decorating it until it literally felt like home. But wow, was it worth it.
And then our friend Mark appeared in his boat, picked us up and took us snorkelling on one of the most beautiful reefs in Grand Cayman. The gratitude I felt in that moment was so strong it brought tears to my eyes.
The Friend Who Grew With You
Michelle and I started our healing journey around the same time. We both gave up alcohol, we both did the deep work, and then we went our separate ways for the past thirteen months. Michelle travelling and learning healing modalities, me building IslandSoul.
Being back together in the same energy was something else.
There’s something rare about a friend who is on your wavelength. Someone who understands the pain you’ve been through, shares similar ambitions to help the world, and doesn’t need you to explain where you’ve been. You just pick up where the energy left off.
Stanford neuroscientist Ben Rein’s research confirms that social bonds influence physical health as much as nutrition and sleep. But the science doesn’t capture what I felt this weekend. The ease of being with someone who gets it. Not because you explained it, but because they lived their own version of it.
That’s not something you can design in a workshop. But it is something you can protect.
Four Pillars, No PowerPoint
I talk about Presence, Expression, Connection, and Purpose all the time. I’ve built an entire experience design framework around them. I’ve used them in proposals and keynotes and strategy sessions.
But this weekend I lived them without trying.
Presence was the fire that needed tending and the sky that didn’t care about my inbox. Being, barefoot on a piece of coastline that hasn’t changed in centuries. Turns out there’s growing research around this: slow productivity replacing hustle culture, rest as strategy, fewer priorities and deeper work. I didn’t read any of that this weekend. I just felt it.
Expression was what came out across the weekend. The things you say when the light is low and there’s no one performing. The honest stuff. The stuff that matters.
Connection was the absence of agenda. No icebreaker needed. No facilitation. Just two people who know each other well enough to sit in silence and have it mean something.
Purpose was each morning. Waking up in a tent in the place I chose to build my life. Knowing that this — the island, the ocean, the company, the work — is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.
Why This Matters for IslandSoul
People often ask me what IslandSoul “is.” The honest answer is that it started as a feeling before it was a business.
Research shows that people who spend time in third spaces — not home, not work — report greater life satisfaction. The campsite was a third space. So is a Soulcation. So is a reset room at a conference. The venue changes. The principle doesn’t.
IslandSoul designs how people feel. And the simplest version of that is still a fire, a friend, and the willingness to feel something real.
I’ve spent the past 18 months building a human experience design platform. I’ve written frameworks, sold packages, designed events for hundreds of people. But this weekend, this simple, undesigned, imperfect weekend, reminded me why I started.
Not to build a brand. To feel alive.
And to help other people remember how.
What’s Your Version of This?
It doesn’t have to be camping. It doesn’t have to be the Caribbean. It just has to be real.
When did you last spend time somewhere that wasn’t home or work, with someone who truly knows you? That’s the question.
If you’re curious about what we’re building at IslandSoul, the door is always open. Come and feel it for yourself.
Sources referenced: Actiu — Trends in Third Spaces (2026), Upskillist (2026), Wellbeing Think Tank (2026)
