The Calendar Says “New Year”. The Land Says “Not Yet”.

As we welcome 2026, I wish you peace, love, and enough space to hear what your body, mind, spirit, and the land are actually asking for right now.

We’re told that January 1st is a fresh start.

But winter isn’t the season of new beginnings.

In the natural world, this is a time for conserving energy, for pulling inward, for resting beneath the surface. Nothing is asking to be reinvented right now.

If you’re not feeling the pull to set goals or make big plans, that’s not a problem. It may simply be that your body feels the season you’re in.

For most of human history, winter was for rest and care, not self-improvement. Renewal began in spring, when life actually starts to awaken again. (As a side note, did you know that prior to the 1500s, New Year’s Day was on April 1st?) 

Go outside and you’ll notice there’s very little to see out on the land right now if you’re only looking for rebirth. No leaf buds. No new green growth emerging from the forest floor. There’s no visible evidence of what’s coming next. Instead, what you see is stillness as seeds remain in the dreaming state and tree roots are deepening. The natural world is in a quiet preparation that can’t be rushed and can’t be skipped.

I’m noticing the same in myself right now. Lately, I’ve been feeling more in need of recharging than reinvention. I’ve decided that now isn’t the time to reshape myself in the form of some “new year-new you” resolution. Like the land, I’m still resting. Still listening. Still letting what’s essential gather itself underground.

If January feels heavy, slow, uninspiring, or simply quiet for you, you’re not doing anything wrong. You may just be in season.

You don’t have to force clarity, commitment, or energy where rest is being asked for. You don’t have to bloom in winter. You are allowed to wait.

Spring will come. It always does.