January
January is a month to grow on the inside. In the silence. In the pause, in the peace. Not a month to rush out with new and bold ideas, but a time to cultivate dream seeds on the inside.
January seems like a cold and barren time. The ground is frozen. The birds are quiet. The plants are sleeping. It feels like time is standing still.
And at the same time, this is the month in the Nordic sun-wheel, where we have passed the Winter Solstice, and we know the light is coming back again. We might not see the change clearly yet, but deep inside, we can feel seeds of hope and growth, when we think about the coming year.
Rest with Nature
When a calendar year begins, there can be a great temptation to rush in and start afresh. A new year brings reflections and resolutions - as well as the urge for sudden change. But January holds a different energy than the leaping forward active energy of spring time and summer.
While January has a bad rep and seems like a grey time, both in light and in feeling, the festivities are over and the cold, barren ground is all, we can see, we can learns to harness January’s special energy for what it brings instead of doing something counteractive to its special seasonal gifts.
By choosing to live our lives with a seasonal rhythm, and not only in clock time, we can begin to be with what is present, and let it help us. And we can find the relief of life becoming easier and more joyful, when we start to work with the energy in Nature instead of fighting against it. We can become more in tune and connect to what is here for us every day - and start to enjoy it for what it is.
January is the perfect time to start this mindful practice of tuning in and listening. The peace and silence serves as a backdrop to attuning our senses to the present moment. A simple way to start is by going outside for a walk and start paying attention. What do you notice? How is the world around you living at this time? What is moving in nature? How do trees or rivers or birds react to a new year? Do they change from one day to the next? Or do they stay awhile in Winter and take time as the days lengthen?
Looking back to look forward
Named after the Roman god Janus with the two faces, January is a month for Reflection. A time to be in the threshold time, an open window, where we can look both to the past and the future.
Reflection is an important practice, even though in the modern, western fast-paced society where we want to move forward all the time, we don’t ascribe much importance to it.
Reflection gives us the opportunity to learn from our experiences and course correct our path forward. Our experiences hold more wisdom to us, when we set time aside to reflect upon what we learned, good and bad, to be able to apply the our learning to our future choices.
As human beings we grow and learn from trial and error, and reflection is an important part of this cycle, as it gives us valuable insight into our values and how we want to live our lives. Maybe a tragic event held some beautiful life wisdom, we could not have received otherwise, maybe a wished-for job promotion left us empty and stressed out, even though we don’t really understand how this could be the case, when we got everything we wanted.
The Magic of New Beginnings
Like a blank book full of new white pages, there is something about a new year, that naturally makes us more optimistic. We can begin to notice and feel into our dreams. To dare again. To begin again. There is something inside us that starts to grow, because just like the Snowdrops that start to appear in the frozen ground or under the winter snow, this is in our nature.
This is a time to cultivate our seeds on the inside. To keep our dreams at heart and our longings close. A time to clean out our drawers of past stories and feed it with new beauty and intentions that is still a secret to the rest of the world.
January can be a month with its own purpose and seasonal power. It helps us to know what we have - from the year that was, for the year that's coming. If we want, we can meet the whole month as a threshold transition. Breathing through these weeks gives us time to come into being, instead of jumping into action.
Rest in the peace of January with its silent promises of new beginnings.
Blessings,
“Keep your dreams at heart. Keep your secrets close. Clean out your work drawer of past stories and feed it with new beauty and a promise that is still a secret to the rest of the world. Make room in your heart for the magic of a New Beginning. ”
January Rituals
Set time aside to Journal
The energy of the first part of January supports a deeply internal time. The soft silence of mid-winter time and the calendar New Year offers a rare opportunity to reflect on who you are and what you truly desire in life going forward.
Setting some time aside to look for the answers that come directly from your own heart, can lead to a deeper acceptance of yourself and your unique qualities, talents and passions. These all need to integrated in the foundation you base your life decisions on, the foundation that supports your intentions and resolutions for the coming year. You are also welcome to join the January Semine Sunday Walk & Write in Amager Nature Park in Copenhagen.
Go for a SNOW- or Sandwalk
Welcome and walk with January as a threshold transition. Follow in the footprint of Charles Darwin and his daily walks were —an exercise in reflection and kind of moving meditation that enriched his scientific work, and gratified his constant curiosity. Read more here
MEND & PREPARE
In the old days, January was often a mending time. A tending time. A time to mend and clean the tools and sharpen the saw. To sit quietly and look at the resources for the coming year. Go through drawers and ask yourself if you feel like mending something, adding something now, or maybe, you find, that you have everything you need? When we stay slow in January, we can put things in order and be more prepared when Spring begins.
JAnuary FULL MOON
Under the light of the January full moon, we are asked to access our own instinctual wisdom about our future paths.
JANUARY NEW Moon
The first New Moon of the year is full of wishful magic. It is a time to set your intentions for the coming year and dream big in the darkness as you give wings to your deepest desires.