I’m officially emerging from my New Years retreat (7 days of mostly solitude and quiet at home).  I’ve chosen my word for 2016: Joie de Vivre! Release was a very close runner up. So close I’ve elected it my “mantra” for at least the first 6 months of the year.

Why Joie de Vivre? Cause I can feel it coming on….

I’ve always been a passionate, driven person. So driven in fact, that for more than a decade, my life has been consumed with life-and-death stakes work serving women in Congo, Somalia, and worldwide. And even before, in my 20’s I worked many an 80 hour work week- even 120 hour work weeks!-often going months without a day off.

When I was 36, after visiting Mogadishu for the first time, I crashed. As I’ve mentioned in other blogs, this was followed by a severe headache that didn’t lift for 9 months, when I was diagnosed with severe anemia, leading to other complications down the road- weight gain, running injuries, unhealthy habits, some minor PTSD, and eventually depression.

So, with my running start on 2016- thanks to my 2015 Threshold year- I’ve started to feel better! This year I’m looking to do the work differently- sustainably- through seeking radical balance. Serious self-care is pretty radical for me, at least! Setting a solid financial foundation. Releasing the weight, the crap in my basement, the emotional baggage. Nourishing myself with healthy food, yoga, running. Hello, some play time backpacking and gardening. As Thoreau advises, I’m working to Simplify, simplify.

Last night, I finally wrapped up my collage, charting out the year to come. It seems to have taken on a French twist:

Welcome, 2016!