What the Balinese Have That We’re Missing in the West

I’ve been home for a bit now, but Bali has a way of lingering.

Not in a “wish I were still on vacation” kind of way—but in the quieter, more unsettling way that makes you question what you’ve normalized.

Because once the jet lag fades, the contrast becomes impossible to ignore.

Despite having far less material wealth than Western societies, the Balinese seem to possess three things we are quietly starving for.

1. Community That Isn’t Optional

In much of the West, community is something you try to build—if you have the time, the energy, and the social battery for it.

In Bali, it’s simply assumed.

People live in villages where everyone knows each other. Children are watched collectively. Ceremonies, celebrations, and challenges are shared. No one is expected to do life alone.

Meanwhile, many of us pride ourselves on independence while secretly feeling isolated, overwhelmed, and unsupported.

It turns out nervous systems don’t thrive on self-sufficiency.

They thrive on belonging.

2. Contentment Without Constant Upgrading

One of the most striking things I noticed in Bali wasn’t what people had—it was how they felt about what they were doing.

Taxi drivers weren’t racing toward something else. Hotel staff weren’t counting the minutes. People doing physically demanding work showed presence, pride, and care.

There was no sense that life would begin after the next promotion, upgrade, or achievement.

In the West, we’ve confused ambition with dissatisfaction—and many of us are exhausted because of it.

Contentment, it turns out, isn’t about circumstances.

It’s about relationship—to work, to self, to the moment you’re in.

3. A Living Connection to Something Bigger

Daily offerings placed on sidewalks. Ceremonies that pause entire neighborhoods. Temples woven into daily life.

In Bali, spirituality isn’t something squeezed in when convenient—it’s integrated.

There’s a felt relationship with the land, with ancestors, with the unseen.

And whether or not you share the same beliefs is beside the point.

What matters is this: life feels different when it’s lived with reverence instead of rush.

Why This Matters (Especially Now)

Coming home made something very clear.

So many people I work with aren’t broken.

They’re overstimulated, disconnected, and living in environments that keep their nervous systems on high alert.

We don’t need another productivity hack.

We need experiences that remind our bodies what safety, rhythm, and connection feel like.

That’s exactly why we host our retreats in Bali.

And right now, we have one room left for our March retreat.

One spot for someone ready to step out of survival mode, reconnect with themselves, and experience a way of living that’s slower, deeper, and far more human.

If that resonates, trust it.

Sometimes what we’re missing isn’t another goal—it’s a different way of being.