I took a sabbatical of a year to travel and prioritize what matters

Professional exhaustion is real, just like 50 years.

As I approached both, I knew it was time for sabbatical leave. I needed a break in my work as a social worker and my hectic life in the concrete jungle of New York. I want to travel and I need to recharge. I decided it was time.

Sabbatical concepts are an almost foreign concept in my field and for most Americans in general. Losing my two parents at a young age and working for years with families who had lost dear beings clearly showed me that life is short.

As with most things, dreaming was easy; The updating was not.

I cherished many aspects of my work and my life. I loved the free neighborhood store and the composting initiative I started. I enjoyed opportunities to dance and participate in events in the city.

But these too familiar feelings of stagnation, professional exhaustion and Wanderlust prevailed. Although I was not sure how I would pass my break or exactly when I start it, I put back in my opinion.

It was a transformer, even if my last day of work came 6 months later.

In January 2023, my trip started. Single and without children or aging parents to take care, I was free from responsibilities and I made no objection to travel in the next half-century of my life with positive energy and openness.

Travel solo, at my own pace

I used the points of the airlines that I had accumulated to reserve a one -way flight to India, without knowing how long I would stay or where I would head.

The elimination of my main expenses, the accommodation, came easy, because a friend was more than happy to use my affordable and central apartment in my absence.

Once abroad, I opted for the adventure of low -cost public transport. This included a 24 -hour kathmandu bus trip to Delhi and sitting on some someone’s rice bags on my lap for a busy bus segments to Muktinath in Nepal.

Similar to my life in New York, I avoided sumptuous expenses and saved money by living a socially aware lifestyle – cycling, camping, gardening, volunteering, finding food, consumption of meals at home and used clothing.

My experience in social work gave me a feeling of openness while I move around the world.

I lived with the Lohani family in Nepal, volunteering on their farm and eating the best Dal Baht at home, a rice dish with lenses. We have traveled the side of the mountain to reach the whole village for its rice plantation festival and for a baby rice food ceremony.

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Self -discovery through solo trips

I have slowly traveled a lot of ground, from Nepal and India to Eastern and Western Europe, in the Middle East, the two coasts of the United States and many between the two.

A friend of my house joined me for trekz the mountain villages of Svaneti, in Georgia. I spent time with new friends during gatherings in Germany, a festival in the Czech Republic, a conference that I presented in Croatia, and during a canoe trip to the United States, on the Green River in Utah.

But nothing compared to the powerful serencities and exchanges that I lived on a trip alone.

The day of my 50th, I did not have hugs, phone calls or even SMS. My phone was in a picturesque Kopan monastery drawer in Nepal while I spent 10 days in silence, with people from around the world, learning, meditating, thinking and being. It was idyllic.

My sabbatical leave turned out to be more than a simple break; It transformed my way of being.

Two years later, I’m back in New York.

I am always in love with the city and always disillusioned by the rats race and the concrete jungle. The trip taught me to continue to prioritize life to make a living.