opening chapter one – hello january
The dawn of a new year. A clean slate. Hope hangs in the air. Fresh starts. Fresh thinking. Fresh opportunities await. In the depths of midwinter, hedgerows barren and bare. Go within. Be still. Reflect. Revive. In the morn, look outside. The sun wakes up through bare trees. Temperatures plummet. Wrap up warm. Snowflakes waltz in the wind. Earth frozen. Paw print tracks. Fields crunch underfoot. Cashmere scarves. Wooly hats. Leather gloves, a must. At the weekend, lazy days give way to lazier nights. Light the fire. Grab a blanket. Pjs on. Snuggle up. Armed with lessons from last year, look ahead. Lean in. Strip it back. What really matters? More of that please. Let’s go…
Though I appreciate that it can sometimes feel daunting for some, in my opinion, there’s something so satisfying about opening a new diary with 365 fresh pages to fill.
For me, those fresh pages represent a clean slate.
For fresh dreams. Fresh opportunities. And a fresh outlook for the months ahead…
It’s why – for all of the negative press it receives – I welcome January with open arms, each year.
When I sit and reflect on my learnings from last year, 2022 will go down as the year where I plucked up the courage to share nothing but content that makes me truly happy…
Whether it was an angle of my garden that made me smile that day or a poem that resonated with me at that particular moment, sharing content that wasn’t dictated by ‘what does the algorithm want?’ was truly liberating and brought me so much joy.
With that in mind, when I think about my goals for 2023, doing more of that is definitely up there on the list!
It was also a year where I embraced seasonal living and let the timeless beauty of nature dictate my style…
More so than ever, it opened my eyes to the power of magical moments throughout the day (that once-upon-a-time, I may have overlooked) that have the power to transform your mindset and ground you in an instant.
Be it the first glimpse of the sunrise poking through the trees each morning or a flock of geese flying in formation ahead, there’s so much beauty to be found every day throughout the year…
So let’s make a collective deal to look out for it, yes?!
Finally, I continued to prioritise authenticity over popularity – something that now, at the grand old age of 34, I’m able to recognise as my superpower.
For me, so long as I know deep down that I’m doing my best this year, not intentionally going out of my way to hurt or upset others and conducting my own research before I make up my mind on situations, I know that I can continue navigating each chapter that 2023 presents with my head held high. Whilst I speak from experience when I say that can at times ruffle a few feathers (!) – there will always be people out there that don’t want you to win after all – I’ve found that these simple practices help me to keep focused on my goals and allow me to concentrate on what genuinely matters.
Like Hermes bags…!
(Just kidding!)
With that in mind, though I’m still deciding on what those specific goals for 2023 are (I prefer to sit with my thoughts for a few days until I know I’m ready to commit!) I know that I want to keep leaning into all of the above.
With that said, welcome back to chapter one everyone!
Let’s make it a magical one, shall we?
Lydia x
