In - soft winter energy. Out - last year's holiday vibes. ✦
The shift is real + it's happening right now
Hello, my friend!
I’ve got a lot of thoughts and feelings after this first week of 2023. Actually, after just this weekend. I feel lighter. I feel in rhythm. And deeply alive. And even though there is so much in the world that is deeply worrisome, I cannot seem to shake the feeling of fresh hope. But, really, isn’t that what life is all of the time? A crazy mix of hope + despair? And perhaps no other time throughout the year feels as hopeful + as uncertain as the beginning of a new calendar year.
It is an intense time. Filled with all kinds of emotions and thoughts and hopes and disappointments and fears and dreams and regrets and clean slates. And, to me, this first weekend of the new year feels like some kind of mix of nostalgia for days gone by and inspiration for days yet to be written.
I think that’s why right now my mantra is “all in”. I don’t have a word of the year, but I just can’t seem to shake these two little words as 2023 begins. All in. I am all in for all of it.
It’s a declaration of hope in itself - even in the midst of despair. It’s a desire to grasp life and hold on tight. To feel it all and experience it all. To not hold back. But, to also just linger. To live every day deeply. To indulge in each moment as it passes. To trust in the rhythm of it all. Always changing, always moving, always shifting.
And, wow, how things have shifted this weekend.
Last year’s exciting, somewhat chaotic, holiday vibes are out; and this year’s soft, restful winter energy is in.
In just the past few days, there’s been much to usher in this shift of energy. The 12 days of Christmas have come to a close, the season of Epiphany has arrived, and the first full moon of 2023 illuminated the January night sky and is already waning. Nothing lasts. Everything is always moving onward, shifting, changing, evolving. Sometimes that is just what we hope for - change. And, other times, we just want things to stay the same.
But, if there is one thing that living in rhythm with the seasons has taught me, it is to accept and flow with change. It doesn’t mean that I love it all of the time, but I trust it. If an unwelcome change comes my way, then I know that it, too, will not last. But, more than that, living seasonally has been just the thing to teach be how to be “all in” with all of life. I’ve learned to release, to shift, and to be present. So, all in for me this year means that I am not living with the seasons… rather, I am living the seasons.
So, in the spirit of being all in, I shifted this weekend as well.
Since the season of Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, is a preparatory, quiet, dark season, the 12 days are a festive, celebratory, feasting time. These 12 days, from December 26 - January 6, are also known as Christmastide. I quietly celebrated all of the 12 days of Christmas this year. My little celebration during these 12 days was marked by New Year’s celebrations with family, anniversary celebrations with my love, long and lazy days of indulging in warm drinks and lots of rest, a quiet and reflective return to work, and a deep appreciation for all of the holiday lights and music and mood.
But, this weekend, we shifted everything in our home. We packed up the Christmas decorations, organized and cleaned a few things, and redecorated our home by welcoming in winter. I kept some evergreen, we added even more candles to tables + windowsills, brought out more blankets, and cleaned the energy in our apartment.
To mark a shift in energy, I love to throw the doors + windows wide open to release the old and welcome in the new. So, this weekend, as is poured down a cold rain outside, we opened wide the balcony door, opened windows, and let the air flow through the entire apartment for an hour to two. Oh, yes, it was cold. But, it felt soooo fresh and new and good. I also burned sage and incense, cleansing + purifying the air, the vibes, the energy. We washed our sheets and clothes and towels. And marked the passing of time by literally refreshing our home.
And so, with this note to you, I engage in my last ritual of this shift from the holidays to winter. I release my dark, tumultuous, sickly season of Advent, my quiet honoring of the winter solstice, my simple, cozy Christmastide, and my New Year’s celebrations to to past. I cross the threshold of the full moon + Epiphany, and fully enter into the deep, restful month of January.
‘Tis the time for a soft, silent month of moments of inner quiet. A time of dreams, of softness, of magic. The perfect time to read, journal, and study. I intend to find inspiration and restoration over the next few weeks, dividing my energy between solitude, work, and gatherings. I’ll restart my yoga practice and recommit to my morning rituals. Mostly, though, I’ll listen. I’ll wait to see if I have any epiphanies. I will take notes, read the signs of nature, and be gentle with myself and others.
I’ll indulge in my everyday rhythms. And I’ll continue to be all in.
Happy January, dear soul. We’ll chat again soon.
xoxo. liz.