How it feels to ease gently into a New Year

New Year - New Me …. not this time thank you!

Do you often set New Year’s resolutions only to discover that your enthusiasm quickly fades away? Aside from January 1st being the apparent beginning of our calendar, is there any other reason for this day to mark the start of the year? Wouldn’t New Year in Spring make more sense?

Photo by Madara Moroza on Unsplash

Hello my friend.

A very warm welcome here today. Come on in, make yourself comfortable. Have you got a warm drink? Good, lets have a chat.

The bells at Midnight ring, a New Year begins. Straight away we are back in action. New Year Resolutions set, healthy food replacing the aftermath of festive chocolates and turkey. We enrol in a slimming club or the local gym, we’re busy making plans for the year, looking at brochures for the summer holiday, filling the calendar with an endless list of social engagements.

Then … a few weeks later, maybe sooner, we hit a wall. We’re burned out, exhausted from the pressure of New Year-New Me syndrome. Lets face it, we’ve all been there haven’t we. I’m certainly guilty of it.

Well not this year. New Year was different. Instead of rushing to make a fresh start at the turn of the clock I just said a gentle hello to the New Year and went straight back into hibernation mode.

January is still very much immersed deep in Winter. Nature is sleeping, preparing itself for rebirth as Spring arrives. Shouldn’t we be doing the same thing? After all we are part of natures process aren’t we?

Let me throw a bit of every day reality into the mix here. Many of us, perhaps yourself included, have day jobs to go to. Our places of work are busy setting new goals and we feel swept along like the ocean current. So that in itself makes it challenging to stay in a hibernation state.

So how do we keep ourselves in a natural state of wintering. Let me show you a few ways that have helped me during January whilst navigating my day job.

• Starting a nature journal. The main reason, apart from documenting nature, was to help keep me grounded in the moment. It’s so easy to go through a day, with ones mind on other things, forgetting to stop and take notice of what’s around us. Whether that be a beautiful sunset, seeing a daffodil bulb peaking up or hearing a bird sing.

• Spending time in nature. Going for a walk on a cold frosty morning. There is nothing more grounding than being close to nature. Feeling it’s sleepy energy but finding tiny pieces of evidence of rebirth like a new bud.

• Reading. Reading is the perfect way to cosy up on a cold winters day, tucked up in a blanket with a hot drink. Is there a more perfect way to hibernate?

• Setting some quiet intensions ready for when we are rejuvenated.

• Cooking and eating seasonally. Something so comforting about a casserole with root vegetables like parsnips and carrots in winter.

Following these few simple ideas have made this one of my favourite January’s ever. It is with absolute certainty that I will repeat this next year, and values that I will take with me throughout this year too.

We must remember that we are a part of nature. Modern day society has created a disconnection from nature, but our true roots remain intertwined with the natural world.

As the days become brighter and longer, we find ourselves ready to take on the world again. Doesn’t it make more sense to start setting goals and plans now, rather than deep in winter? I feel a sense of calm, ready to emerge fully when Spring comes around. Ready to begin the year as nature intended.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Five things that made me smile in January

• Our off-grid camp. A full weekend of immersion in nature. A truly wonderful experience. I wrote about it here.

• Joining

  Emily Male
  ’s new Slow and Steady membership. It’s a beautiful space to be part of, with a lovely community. I highly recommend this, it’s a perfectly gentle way to begin the year.

• Watching the latest season of Virgin River on Netflix. I love the whole vibe of the show. It’s such a feel good experience with a diverse mix of characters and storylines.

• Reaching 100 subscribers. I was so excited to finally hit 100. You can read about it here.

• A winter walk in -5 frost and fog. Such an invigorating morning. I wrote about it here.

Books I enjoyed 📚

The Little Café in Copenhagen - Julie Caplin.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a cosy insight into the Danish concept of Hygge. Descriptive writing. I’m no city girl but it made me want to visit Copenhagen.

The Lighthouse Library - Rachael Lucas.

Rachael’s Applemore series is a delightful escape to a remote village in Scotland. This is the latest in a series of six but they can be read as stand alone books. I loved this one.

Happy by Design -

Victoria Harrison

. How to create a home that boosts your health and happiness.

I really enjoyed this book. It is full of ideas from plants to add to the home to boost health and aid sleep, to which colours are the happiest. Victoria takes us through the whole home with some wonderful tips.

Your Spiritual Almanac - A Year of Living Mindfully - Joey Hulin

I love this book. It’s an easy to read, month by month seasonal and spiritual guide. From which flowers are in season, a seasonal recipe, meditations, yoga poses and journal prompts. There is so much more. I’ll be following this throughout the year as part of my Wellbeing focus.

Substacks I loved

Tales of Slow & Simple | 05

Inspirations & Connections | XI. Homecomings

How to start an urban homestead in 5 easy steps

Lunchtime

In case you missed them, I published the following blogs in January :-

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Until next time.

Debbie xx

Check out my seasonal bookmarks here

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