Welcome to Issue #017 of Sojourn. Each week, I share two original essays to help you slow down, reconnect, and rebuild with intention (hence ‘sojourn’), in a private community that uses travel as a path to reinvention.
THE SHIFT FROM WASTE TO WORTH
Robb Report recently said it well: waste isn’t back-of-house anymore, it’s front-of-brand.
That line stayed with me.
Because it’s not just about hotels.
It’s about us.
Overbuilt buffets, plastic waste, empty “eco” signs—when care is missing, guests feel it. I know I do. The details signal whether care is present, or whether convenience has replaced it.
And I’ve noticed the same in life: when my energy, time, or voice felt wasted, I began to feel replaceable. Not seen. Not valued.
That’s not just about sustainability. That’s identity.
WHAT CHANGED FOR ME
I once stayed at a place where nothing was wasted: herbs, linens, even the furniture told stories of reuse.
At first, it seemed small. But slowly, it began to shift something in me.
The atmosphere wasn’t just sustainable, it was considerate.
Every detail revealed: nothing here is wasted, including you.
That experience reshaped how I saw my own patterns of ‘waste’.
I realized it wasn’t just about things, it was about me.
So I started asking harder questions:
Where in my life was I treating my own time as disposable?
Where was I giving away energy without thought?
Where was I discarding parts of myself that still had value?
That was my turning point.
WHY IT MATTERS
Sustainability isn’t only about designing hotels that last.
It’s about designing lives that last.
Because when nothing feels disposable, the guest doesn’t either.
And when nothing in your life feels wasted, you don’t either.
That’s what reinvention asks of us—not grand gestures, but considered choices:
→ Cut the careless.
→ Choose what restores.
→ Carry forward what lasts.
This isn’t about living perfectly.
It’s about living like you matter.
PROMPTS
This week, ask yourself:
• Where do I feel “disposable” in my own life?
• What careless habit could I cut to reclaim care?
• How can I design my days so nothing feels wasted… not time, not energy, not me?
THE SHIFT
Waste isn’t just scraps on a plate.
It’s the signal of what we value.
And reinvention begins when we decide our lives are worth more, when nothing, not even the smallest part of us, is treated as disposable.
~Ana