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The Space Between Breaths

On stepping back, letting go, and learning not to push

4 min readSep 13, 2025

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The road to Los Alamos ©DianeHatz 2025

I’ve been working overtime trying to finish the fourth and final book in The Mind Monsters Series, so much so that I keep my nose to the grindstone until I burst into tears of frustration.

So I’ve stopped. What was going to be a December 2025 book release has been pushed to June 2026. And if I’m still feeling stressed in the spring, I’m pushing publication to September.

I started wondering why I always push myself so hard. It was par for course when living in New York City — and when I was younger and climbing a career ladder, but why do I still feel the need to push myself to my limits? What am I trying to prove?

One reason is fear — fear of spending all my savings to the point of homelessness. It’s an odd feeling when money isn’t coming in and is only going out — I’m still not used to it.

I’m also afraid of becoming lost and invisible to the world. I don’t need fame and fortune, though I would like recognition and security. Lately, I’ve been wondering where I belong.

Another reason I still work fifty to sixty hours a week is to find purpose. After my career imploded and exploded at the same time, and unscrupulous people spread vicious lies and forced me out of my work and…

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Diane Hatz
Diane Hatz

Written by Diane Hatz

Author. Organizer. Inner activist. Looking for answers one pen stroke, meditation, and road trip at a time. The Light of Wounds out now.