Chiang Mai, 9:42 p.m.
It’s my last night in Chiang Mai. In one day, I’ll be in Sydney,
back-to-back meetings, client calls, full business mode for at least 5 weeks.
But tonight, I just wanted to slip away for a bit.
So I let my feet wander through the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.
The air was warm and heavy with the smell of spices and smoke. A noodle vendor yawned behind his cart. Under a table, a little girl watched me quietly, holding a bag of rice like it was her most precious thing.
No one knows who I am. No one asks what I do or where I’m from.
And for some reason, I feel free.
Since starting this nomadic life, I’ve discovered a power no one really talks about:
Invisibility.
Not the lonely kind, not the “no one sees me” kind, but the kind that makes you feel light. The kind that strips away expectations, labels, and the constant need to explain yourself.
Choosing to be invisible
Living in constant motion takes things away from you, but it also gives you a lens few people ever get to look through.
When no one is watching, you start to really see.
The small things. The details. The silence.
You sit quietly, letting other people’s lives pass by like a soundless movie.
And in those moments, you understand more than you ever could scrolling through social media.
That’s when invisibility becomes something else.
It becomes presence , deep, unfiltered, full-body presence.
You’re not selling anything. You’re not performing.
You’re just there. And that’s enough.
The downside of visibility
But then, as I walk through the stalls, invisible, weightless,
part of me drifts back to what’s waiting on the other side of this moment.
The part of me that’s always working.
My inbox. My deadlines.
The version of me that has to show up.
Because while here I’m just another passerby, soon I’ll be back behind my laptop, pitching ideas, planning strategies, presenting myself to the world.
One that doesn’t reward invisibility.
Because in business, especially when you’re a freelancer or a founder, invisibility isn’t seen as power.
Modern marketing teaches us: people buy from those they know.
You need to be visible. Present. Memorable.
If you’re not out there, you don’t exist.
If no one sees you, no one will trust you.
And so, you get caught in the loop. Between Reels and carousels, CTAs and carefully curated captions, you start to wonder: Am I still sharing… or am I just shouting?
And sometimes, in all that noise,
what I really need, is to stop… and become invisible.
So where’s the line?
I ask myself that often.
Where does sharing end and self-abandonment begin?
Where’s the line between authenticity and performance?
I know my business needs visibility.
I know people need to know I exist, what I do, and what I stand for.
But I’m also starting to learn something else:
To choose when to show up, and when to go quiet.
To speak without shouting, ( Working in progress 🙂
To connect without constantly performing.
We live in a world that rewards the loudest voices, the brightest visuals, the strongest presence. But what happens when you step away from all of that, when no one knows your name, your job, or your story?
This isn’t about running away.
It’s about choosing your presence with intention.
It’s about understanding that invisibility doesn’t mean you’ve lost your place,
sometimes, it means you’ve finally found it.
Veronica,
Currently in Chiang Mai.
“Where morning mist wraps the hills and I forget what I came to forget.“
Work Unplugged 
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