It’s the new year and Chris and I leave for our road trip soon. In the meantime, I’m still working long hours at my job as a clinical director for a non-profit organization and it feels rather bittersweet. More sweet than bitter, as you can see from my photo as I jump for joy in our beautiful local park. Bitter because I so love and believe in the mission of our work and I will miss it along with all of my amazing and dedicated colleagues and the bravery and inspiration of the women we are so honored to serve. Sweet because I will not miss the frustration I so often feel from working with challenging systems. Chris and I have been planning our ‘gap’ year for some time, and the process we’ve gone through to make this major change in our lives reminds me of  stages of change that one goes through when changing a behavior related to their health, such as stopping smoking, or exercising more. We’ve been stuck in ambivalence for awhile. Things feel very serendipitous, and it feels as if the universe is speaking to us saying there is no time like now. It becomes apparent to me that Now is the time for me to leave my job. I’m not handling the stress with my typical equanimity, and somehow lost myself somewhere along the way. My health suffers and my heart hurts, literally and figuratively. So like the stages of change, the universe helps us to see the pros of making this major life change now. It really is related to our health, both physical and mental. Now is the time to strengthen our mindfulness practice, something we’ve been practicing and teaching for twenty years, but that seemed to fall by the wayside. In preparation of our trip, I’m doing an 8 week online  Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, now in my 4th week. I’ve been wanting to do this course for years, but have found it too cost prohibitive, so I’m thrilled to find this course for free. My intent is to strengthen and deepen my daily mindful practice. You may want to check out this free online MBSR course for yourself. There will be much for us to explore and share on this exciting journey. Until next time, enjoy the NOW. ~ Diane