Human to Human

For some of us it is a little extra newness, this arrival of January and the new year. We effort just a little more. Or a little less, by conviction. We give ourselves permission to feel the quiet resolve of a new start, of a new spark. And then we go about the day’s inner and the day’s outer with flavored determination.

I’m glad for some good folk who share their learnings and offerings. The folks at The Red Shoes are an example of this for me, five people that participated in my Circle Workshop last October. Bask in their language and their invitation. I did.

January arrives as a quiet threshold—a moment to pause before moving forward. At The Red Shoes, we welcome the new year not with pressure to reinvent ourselves, but with an invitation to listen inward and take our first steps with care. This is a season for honoring what was, noticing what is beginning to stir, and choosing how we wish to enter what comes next.

Rather than resolutions, we lean into intention. Gentle, grounded practices can help us clarify what we want to carry forward and what we are ready to set down. Throughout this month, our programs and circles offer spaces for reflection, renewal, and conscious re-entry—supporting clarity, presence, and a steady return to ourselves.

Yup, so sweet to hear the words to sway a “steady return to ourselves.” On we go.

You’d think Dana and I were duck people, given this table next to our living room window. Not really, but there’s a few decorative pieces and plants that bring life to that living room. And memories. And I like the candle lit — amazing what a simple small candle can to bring a centering energy.

So, 2026 is here. Like many, I can celebrate the newness. A few extra intentions that so often come about at the turning of the year. Like many, I can feel the excitements and generally want to follow that. It’s discipline to lean in to what gives life and to what creates life.

Like many, I can also feel the anxieties and angsts that are difficult to comprehend and to integrate. It’s discipline not to get hijacked by injustices and power plays that lead with what is not genuine. When What The Fuck becomes so much the common and repeated emotive of the day, well it means we’ve got some actions to take and friendships to rekindle and centering to reclaim. Oy!

So, I’ll come back to this action, sharing this inspiration from James Crews, a Vermont-based writer, teacher, guide. He writes a piece called, The Weekly Pause that I’m glad to have landing in my inbox. I love the line, “curls will no longer be enough; you want whole loaves of joy.”

This New Year
James Crews

This new year,
crumbs will no longer be enough.
You want whole loaves of joy,
feast of exuberance laid out
on the table of each waiting day.
You want awe for the smallest things —
drop of honey lifted off the plate
with a fingertip, that kiss of summer,
and Ball Jars of bone broth left
to cool on the back of the stove,
golden and healing. No resolution
could ever live up to the feeling
of just being here, sprinting into
the new year like a child let loose
from parents in the park, running
and running without a destination
into the open arms of the air.

Here’s to the open arms, and to the loaves of joy we might find, bake, and share.

Here we are. On we go.

I kinda like this photo above. It showed up in my FB feed from a Buddhist site.
I like its simplicity. And, yes, its invitation to lifetime practice.
It feeds a theme that many of us are trying to live —
the little stuff is often the big stuff.

For inspiration.

And whether you chose one or three or eighteen,
when held with a kind heart, it points in a good direction, doesn’t it.

slow down.
honor what was.
take responsibility.
close chapters. trust life.
make space for whats next.
simplify. get back to the basics.
get the support you need. set goals.
embrace your why. take aligned action.
level up. take care of your body and mind.
be consistent. respect yourself and your efforts.
spend time with loved ones. celebrate everything.

Cheers. And appreciations. And for what comes.
For what is. On we go in ’26.