What's next?

Over two years have passed since I stopped running the Community Art and Mindfulness Center that I called Present Sense. A lot has happened. I will leave the details for other posts, but after a year of intentionally "not doing anything new," and the death of my mother the following year, I am making some changes.

Starting in July 2016, I am taking a "sabbatical" from my therapy practice, and my husband and I are moving out of our house to live in a small travel trailer for a year. Our intention is to live more simply, be closer to the natural world where Tom practices his photography, explore options for the next phase of our lives, and, most importantly, take time to listen. 

This blog is a way for me to keep in touch with the many people I care about while we are on the road. Though we are leaving Seattle where we have made our home for over 25 years, we are not leaving the hearts and lives of the people we love, and I hope this will help us stay in touch while we are gone.

It is also a place to begin to think about the intersection of several subjects: poetry, sustainable living, spiritual growth, and the myriad forms of life in this world. This is a space to bring my different interests together and see how they might integrate into a whole. In this, "Present Sense" is the key, the awareness that binds it all together.

Though "Present Sense" most recently referred to the community center I ran from 2009-2014, it has also been the name I used for my work since 2001, through shifts in focus from writing coaching to meditation training to gardening.  Now the name is moving on again and I am using it to refer to this blog—and whatever comes of it.

We are still in the preparation phases for this trip. I will be closing my therapy practice at the end of June. We plan to leave Seattle by the end of August. My intention for this year of travel is to simply stay open each day, to see where my present sense leads me. Your love and support means a lot to me and I look forward to keeping in touch!