The In-Between is the Point

Some years are easy to define.

They come with a headline, like a wedding, a move, or a diagnosis—something that gives the whole stretch of time a name.

This hasn’t been one of those years.

But I’ll remember it just as clearly, maybe even more so. Not because it was quiet, but because it asked more of me than almost any year in recent history.

This has been a year of saying goodbye to roles I once held tightly. Some of them, I now see, had outlived their purpose long before I was ready to let them go. It wasn’t easy to admit how long I’d stayed, or how much I had shaped myself around things that no longer felt true.

The unraveling wasn’t graceful. But it was real. And eventually, it was worth it.

If I had to name it, I’d still call 2025 a year of transformation. Not the buzzword kind—the real kind. The kind that rewrites you from the inside out. Some of these shifts have been freeing. Some have been brutal. Most have been both.

I’m learning that transformation isn’t about clean slates or perfect timing. It’s about staying with yourself while everything is in motion. It’s about grieving what’s leaving, honoring what’s emerging, and not rushing the part in between. Research in psychology tells us that transformation rarely arrives in grand gestures.

Instead, it unfolds in those uncomfortable, uncertain in-betweens. Studies on post- traumatic growth and meaning-making remind us that even quiet shifts can lay the groundwork for deeper resilience and self-understanding. 1, 2

“In a dark time, the eye begins to see." 6

Neuroscience, too, assures us that our brains are wired for change—capable of forming new pathways as we let go of the old and welcome the new. 3

Even subtle shifts in thought patterns, habits, or emotional responses can gradually reshape our neural pathways, supporting lasting transformation.

In therapy, we talk a lot about sitting with the unknown. It sounds reasonable in theory. In practice, it feels like being untethered, adrift without direction, trying to relax while free-falling without a parachute. Therapeutically, the ability to tolerate ambiguity is linked to better mental health outcomes. 4 Learning to sit with the unknown is a skill that can be cultivated and is associated with reduced anxiety and increased adaptability.

Mindfulness-based practices have also been shown to help us stay present during periods of uncertainty, supporting self-compassion and helping us notice what truly matters.5

And maybe that’s the point. In that space between what’s ending and what’s beginning—when you stop rushing toward clarity and just start paying attention—something shifts.

So, if this year has felt off, uncertain, or in between, you’re not doing it wrong. You might just be in it.

And that’s enough.

Learn more about Maria and Sage Behavioral Health by clicking here.

---

1. Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18.

   
   

2. Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257-301.

   
   

3. Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: Stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689-695.

   
   

4. Greco, V., & Roger, D. (2001). Coping with uncertainty: The construction and validation of a new measure. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(4), 519-534.

   
   

5. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144-156.
   

6. 6. "In a dark time, the eye begins to see." Quote by Theodore Roethke.