Image by Silvia from Pixabay This post has been brewing for weeks as I’ve ridden the waves of the energy it embodies and then a downturn into grief or sadness that has interrupted any creative juices that might have been there. It’s hard to write in these times we’re in, but here we are, so here we go.
Welcome to 2026! As much as I try to avoid the New Year hype and definitely don’t get into resolutions, I cannot deny that I have had moments of feeling, welcoming, and allowing the collective surge of energy that for some strange reason January brings with it. When I open to it and lean in, I feel something fresh bubbling. A reminder that we get to begin anew – actually one of my favorite things from meditation – knowing that with any moment, any breath, we can begin again. So, rather than resist the New Year’s stuff this year, why not tap into the collective energy of people around the world deciding to make different choices, try new things, opt for more supportive ways of being? Why not let it support us as we take some time to pause and reflect on the past year and feel into what is wanting to be born this year, what wants to be supported, and what will support and nurture us?
Showing up with this intention does not erase anything else that’s going on in the world or anything that’s happened in the past that is part of who we are.
Often, I’ve chosen a word of the year to reflect a quality I want to bring in, how I want to be, or what support I need – an intention or aspiration of sorts. Last year I had four: Hope, Open, Healing, and Oasis – they represented how I wanted to be, what I wanted to experience and what I wanted to create. They’re still really good guideposts, and yet, with this fresh energy, I’m feeling a desire for new words – not just one (why did I ever limit myself to just one!?). This year the image that enchants me is a stew pot – calling me, inviting me to ponder what ingredients are already in the stew and what spices do I want to add into my life this year. They will simmer and mingle together creating a unique blend for me. What might be in your stew?
Slowing Down: A couple words that have arisen in this new year are Slow and Steady. One thing I know for sure is when things feel urgent, scary, out of control, (or all of the above), our natural tendency is to rush, to hurry to do something. Perhaps these are the moments when we most need to slow down. To wait for clarity to arise rather than to jump into motion reactively or prematurely.
“These times are urgent. Let us slow down.”
― Bayo Akomolafe
Even when life is beautifully busy or full, I don’t want to feel rushed, hurried, or overwhelmed. There’s nothing that doesn’t work better when I pause and move mindfully. Slowing down and finding ground always enhances my quality of presence.
I want to choose to take time, make time, create space for what truly matters and what supports, nurtures, and nourishes me. I need to quiet the noise of the outer world and set my own pace, find my own rhythm and flow. I find I'm needing a lot of rest these days. I need breathing room to support my body, mind, heart, and spirit. I don’t want to squeeze in the practices, experiences, and people that are essential to my well-being. I want them to be the priority that other things work around.
I want to be conscious and mindful of what I consume – literally in food and beverage, but also what I listen to, look at, read, and allow myself to take in. To observe what drains me and what fills me up so that I can make wise choices. Is this selfish? I don’t think so. I find that more mindfulness allows me to better show up and serve and support others than I could if I simply allowed myself to be mindlessly taken out.
Protecting our Energy: How can I settle and protect my sacred energy, my lifeforce, my nervous system? What do I say yes to? What’s a no? With limited energy and finite hours, how do we honestly say, “this is a priority – this matters. This is important or helpful to me in some way.” Or to consciously choose, “Yes, right now I am going to take an hour or two and numb out in front of the TV. I’m going to eat these snacks, even though I might not feel great later. This is what I want to do right now.” Mindful, conscious choices versus mindless habits, reactions, patterns, and ways. This requires awareness, attention, and intention.
Tuning into my core values and how I want to feel can be helpful guideposts, anchors, guiding lights that help me monitor myself. If peace is important to me, will scrolling social media and getting sucked into irrational comments support that peace or would I be better served to color on my phone (Zen Color is an app I like when I want to be on my phone but not amping myself up) or play one of my word games? Is this a moment I would rather put the phone down altogether and take a walk, take a nap, or phone a friend.
Finding ways that work for us to support what we say we want – this is how we come into alignment and integrity, honoring ourselves. Being mindful and conscious does not mean that we won’t “slip” back into old ways, habits, reactions a million times a day, but it does help us develop the ability to notice when we do and to choose differently if we like.
We strengthen our belief in ourselves the more we honor our intentions. Even sitting down to write for just 30 minutes right now (and checking the timer to make sure it’s actually running because it feels like it’s been HOURS!) after many weeks off is an action aligned with a core desire. I want to get back to regular writing. It’s so hard after being away – scary almost to return though I have no idea why.
Putting this into action:
In order to develop any sort of new rhythm or flow, we must begin. And begin gently with the inquiry, “What would be helpful, supportive, onward-leading?” Not necessarily comfortable or painless, but also not harsh, punitive, self-abusive, performative or competitive. Show up for what matters to you because it matters to you! Beyond “should,” beyond clocks, timers, or schedules, beyond looking at what other people are doing. Give yourself a good challenge with a little effort. This builds strength, resilience, growth, and new ways of being in the world. This is not “no pain, no gain” bullshit! This is a gentle stretch toward something that matters to you – toward the stew you want to swim in (ok, maybe this isn’t the best analogy!) – the stew you want to nourish you at this time in your life.
If you say you want peace, what does that feel like in your body? How do you know when you have it? What will you do to create more of it in your days? What gets in the way of peace for you?
Allow for day-to-day flexibility and variability because this also isn’t about rigidity. Who do you want to be? How do you want to be? What do you want to create and what actions do you want to take this year? Who and what supports you? Who and what brings you down? Where do you find peace, fun, beauty, wonder? These things matter! When you take time to get curious, how does this inform your choices?
I offer a reading to support us all:
The new year invites us to begin again.
Beginning again does not mean erasing the past.
It means bowing to it.
Learning from it
And gently placing it down.
Every breath is a new year.
Every moment, a fresh start.
When we pause together at the turning of the calendar, we feel a collective energy, a shared longing for reset, for healing, for steadiness.
This is not weakness. It is wisdom. The heart knows when it is time to rest, to re-center and remember what truly matters.
Intentions are seeds to be planted.
If we want peace, we must practice peace.
If we want kindness, we must practice kindness.
If we want clarity, we must practice stillness.
Spiritual practice grounds our intentions in the body and the heart.
Meditation, prayer, mindful walking, compassionate listening are not escapes from the world. They are ways of meeting the world with steadiness and love.
We do not need to become someone new.
We only need to return to ourselves.
…to our breath.
…to our values.
…to what softens and strengthens us at the same time.
May this new year be one of gentle courage,
of small consistent acts of goodness,
of beginning again and again without judgment.
May it bring us clarity, compassion and a deep trust in our own wise hearts.
May all beings be well and happy and peaceful.
- Bhante Sujatha
How do you begin again? How do you engage more mindfully in your days, especially when you feel drained or overwhelmed? Let’s learn from each other!
Welcome to 2026! As much as I try to avoid the New Year hype and definitely don’t get into resolutions, I cannot deny that I have had moments of feeling, welcoming, and allowing the collective surge of energy that for some strange reason January brings with it. When I open to it and lean in, I feel something fresh bubbling. A reminder that we get to begin anew – actually one of my favorite things from meditation – knowing that with any moment, any breath, we can begin again. So, rather than resist the New Year’s stuff this year, why not tap into the collective energy of people around the world deciding to make different choices, try new things, opt for more supportive ways of being? Why not let it support us as we take some time to pause and reflect on the past year and feel into what is wanting to be born this year, what wants to be supported, and what will support and nurture us?
Showing up with this intention does not erase anything else that’s going on in the world or anything that’s happened in the past that is part of who we are.
Often, I’ve chosen a word of the year to reflect a quality I want to bring in, how I want to be, or what support I need – an intention or aspiration of sorts. Last year I had four: Hope, Open, Healing, and Oasis – they represented how I wanted to be, what I wanted to experience and what I wanted to create. They’re still really good guideposts, and yet, with this fresh energy, I’m feeling a desire for new words – not just one (why did I ever limit myself to just one!?). This year the image that enchants me is a stew pot – calling me, inviting me to ponder what ingredients are already in the stew and what spices do I want to add into my life this year. They will simmer and mingle together creating a unique blend for me. What might be in your stew?
Slowing Down: A couple words that have arisen in this new year are Slow and Steady. One thing I know for sure is when things feel urgent, scary, out of control, (or all of the above), our natural tendency is to rush, to hurry to do something. Perhaps these are the moments when we most need to slow down. To wait for clarity to arise rather than to jump into motion reactively or prematurely.
“These times are urgent. Let us slow down.”
― Bayo Akomolafe
Even when life is beautifully busy or full, I don’t want to feel rushed, hurried, or overwhelmed. There’s nothing that doesn’t work better when I pause and move mindfully. Slowing down and finding ground always enhances my quality of presence.
I want to choose to take time, make time, create space for what truly matters and what supports, nurtures, and nourishes me. I need to quiet the noise of the outer world and set my own pace, find my own rhythm and flow. I find I'm needing a lot of rest these days. I need breathing room to support my body, mind, heart, and spirit. I don’t want to squeeze in the practices, experiences, and people that are essential to my well-being. I want them to be the priority that other things work around.
I want to be conscious and mindful of what I consume – literally in food and beverage, but also what I listen to, look at, read, and allow myself to take in. To observe what drains me and what fills me up so that I can make wise choices. Is this selfish? I don’t think so. I find that more mindfulness allows me to better show up and serve and support others than I could if I simply allowed myself to be mindlessly taken out.
Protecting our Energy: How can I settle and protect my sacred energy, my lifeforce, my nervous system? What do I say yes to? What’s a no? With limited energy and finite hours, how do we honestly say, “this is a priority – this matters. This is important or helpful to me in some way.” Or to consciously choose, “Yes, right now I am going to take an hour or two and numb out in front of the TV. I’m going to eat these snacks, even though I might not feel great later. This is what I want to do right now.” Mindful, conscious choices versus mindless habits, reactions, patterns, and ways. This requires awareness, attention, and intention.
Tuning into my core values and how I want to feel can be helpful guideposts, anchors, guiding lights that help me monitor myself. If peace is important to me, will scrolling social media and getting sucked into irrational comments support that peace or would I be better served to color on my phone (Zen Color is an app I like when I want to be on my phone but not amping myself up) or play one of my word games? Is this a moment I would rather put the phone down altogether and take a walk, take a nap, or phone a friend.
Finding ways that work for us to support what we say we want – this is how we come into alignment and integrity, honoring ourselves. Being mindful and conscious does not mean that we won’t “slip” back into old ways, habits, reactions a million times a day, but it does help us develop the ability to notice when we do and to choose differently if we like.
We strengthen our belief in ourselves the more we honor our intentions. Even sitting down to write for just 30 minutes right now (and checking the timer to make sure it’s actually running because it feels like it’s been HOURS!) after many weeks off is an action aligned with a core desire. I want to get back to regular writing. It’s so hard after being away – scary almost to return though I have no idea why.
Putting this into action:
In order to develop any sort of new rhythm or flow, we must begin. And begin gently with the inquiry, “What would be helpful, supportive, onward-leading?” Not necessarily comfortable or painless, but also not harsh, punitive, self-abusive, performative or competitive. Show up for what matters to you because it matters to you! Beyond “should,” beyond clocks, timers, or schedules, beyond looking at what other people are doing. Give yourself a good challenge with a little effort. This builds strength, resilience, growth, and new ways of being in the world. This is not “no pain, no gain” bullshit! This is a gentle stretch toward something that matters to you – toward the stew you want to swim in (ok, maybe this isn’t the best analogy!) – the stew you want to nourish you at this time in your life.
If you say you want peace, what does that feel like in your body? How do you know when you have it? What will you do to create more of it in your days? What gets in the way of peace for you?
Allow for day-to-day flexibility and variability because this also isn’t about rigidity. Who do you want to be? How do you want to be? What do you want to create and what actions do you want to take this year? Who and what supports you? Who and what brings you down? Where do you find peace, fun, beauty, wonder? These things matter! When you take time to get curious, how does this inform your choices?
I offer a reading to support us all:
The new year invites us to begin again.
Beginning again does not mean erasing the past.
It means bowing to it.
Learning from it
And gently placing it down.
Every breath is a new year.
Every moment, a fresh start.
When we pause together at the turning of the calendar, we feel a collective energy, a shared longing for reset, for healing, for steadiness.
This is not weakness. It is wisdom. The heart knows when it is time to rest, to re-center and remember what truly matters.
Intentions are seeds to be planted.
If we want peace, we must practice peace.
If we want kindness, we must practice kindness.
If we want clarity, we must practice stillness.
Spiritual practice grounds our intentions in the body and the heart.
Meditation, prayer, mindful walking, compassionate listening are not escapes from the world. They are ways of meeting the world with steadiness and love.
We do not need to become someone new.
We only need to return to ourselves.
…to our breath.
…to our values.
…to what softens and strengthens us at the same time.
May this new year be one of gentle courage,
of small consistent acts of goodness,
of beginning again and again without judgment.
May it bring us clarity, compassion and a deep trust in our own wise hearts.
May all beings be well and happy and peaceful.
- Bhante Sujatha
How do you begin again? How do you engage more mindfully in your days, especially when you feel drained or overwhelmed? Let’s learn from each other!
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