This year, I stepped into a sabbatical with a question I couldn’t quite name.

Somewhere along the way, it became clearer.

I’m studying what I now call “The Golden Window.”

It doesn’t happen for everyone—but when it does, you feel it.

It’s that stretch of time when something in your life begins to shift. What once made sense starts to loosen its grip, and something new begins to take shape—often bringing a deeper sense of alignment, energy, and satisfaction.

The Golden Window can pass quickly, almost unnoticed. Or it can be extended, even deepened, depending on how it’s cultivated.

That act of cultivation—of noticing, naming, and stewarding the shift—is what I’m learning to pay attention to.

This, I’m beginning to believe, is what sabbaticals are truly for.