What My Mini-Sabbatical Taught Me
A few months ago, I gave myself something I had wanted for a long time: a pause.
After almost twenty years of building my professional life in the Netherlands, I created space to step away from what was familiar, breathe, reflect and listen more carefully to what might come next. I didn't have everything figured out. That was part of the point.
As the weeks passed, I began noticing small lessons hidden in ordinary moments. A camel made me think about preparation. A seed reminded me that not all progress is visible. Caring for myself made me reconsider what it means to care for others. Saying no showed me more clearly what I wanted to say yes to. Building a cairn taught me that balance is not something we find once, but something we continually adjust.
And then came movement... I began to understand that sometimes we have to start walking before the sea opens. That silence can reveal questions we could not hear through the noise. That wisdom can appear in unexpected places—even while watching an animated series with your family. That a life spent close to older people can teach you not to wait forever for permission to become more fully yourself. And that growing does not require rejecting who you once were.
It means allowing yourself to change.
These became my 10 reflections from my mini-sabbatical. I shared them individually over several weeks on Instagram and LinkedIn, accompanied by the images, stories and music that helped me give each reflection its own voice. But looking at them now as a whole, I realise they tell another story.
Prepare. Pause. Care. Choose. Balance. Walk. Listen. Stay curious. Dare. Change.
Not a formula for transformation. A sequence that happened to emerge from mine.
There were many more lessons during this pause, and I am sure there are others I have not yet understood. These ten are simply the ones that stayed with me strongly enough to put into words and share.
I share them because I believe there is something beautiful in allowing what life teaches us to travel a little further. Not as a recipe. Not as a map. Simply as an invitation to notice what your own life might be trying to teach you. Our paths will be different. Our pauses will be different. And so will the lessons we find along the way.
Perhaps that is part of the wisdom: learning to walk our own path with a little more awareness, curiosity and courage.
May it inspire you. ✨
Julissa ✨
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