January Joys

Reflecting on the past month

I hate winter. The darkness and the cold miserable weather. However, this year I have embraced slowing down and hibernating as

Victoria Harrison

wrote. Easing into a slow productive routine that worked for me. Living seasonally.

January was the month I joined substack, on the recommendation of

Molly Ella

and it’s honestly been the best thing. So many interesting and inspirational writers here. So much great advice and ideas for self-improvement, and becoming who you’re supposed to be. I even have a few subscribers!

I feel this year I’m becoming who I’ve always wanted to be and feel so awakened creatively and spiritually.

Highlights of January:

• Published some writing to substack

• Enjoying photography again

• Travelled to Italy and explored lots of areas. I wrote a post on it.

• Started journalling every day. Some days I’ll write a page, and other days it will just be a sentence. Not restricting myself to one form of journalling, just going with the flow. Inspired by

  Molly Ella

• Started watercolour painting. I used to always want to paint but the fear of not being perfect has always held me back. But this time I’ve decided to embrace imperfection and just see what happens. I’ve set myself an achievable goal of 1 small painting per month related to flora that is seasonal for that month. This feels realistic and I also hope to learn more about the particular species. For January I chose Common Ivy.

Also on substack, the theme of everyday moments of joy has been floating around.

🪄 Tiny Magic 🪄

writes brilliantly on this. My four favourite moments this month were:

• Beautifully coloured sunrise skies for a few days in a row

• Noticing daffodils in full bloom

• Seagulls amusingly stamping up and down on the grass looking for worms

• Watching a peregrine falcon on my morning walk and noticing a magpie, crows and seagulls chasing it for its kill.

Inspired by

Ángel Michel

I channelled my inner child and let myself play on this fantastic rope swing that I came across on a walk. I wasn’t actually very good but it was fun and joyful all the same!

I’ve been enjoying reading again. I’ve found that I tend to read most in the evenings. This month I read ‘Surfacing’ by Kathleen Jamie. It has some beautiful descriptions of the landscapes in both Alaska and the Scottish Isles, but also about the importance of archaeology and discovering information about ancient cultures. I loved how in Quinhagak, the people notice. They are so inter-connected with nature, they know exactly what is going on. They know when the seasons are, what wildlife is around, when the berries are out. And they also do it without embarrassment. It feels like a lot of people are so disconnected from nature and our surroundings. My word of the month for February is going to be noticing. The book contains different stories as you progress through the book which I’m not a massive fan of, but the actual stories were really interesting.

The final creative thing I’ve been enjoying is photography. My camera is getting quite old now as I got it in 2014, but it still does the job. I’ve been enjoying the challenges that

Patrik L

does on here. I’ve started using Lightroom again as it perfectly does everything I need. I’m very lucky where I live and have access to some beautiful locations. The following are some photo’s I’ve edited this month.

February always feels exciting to me. I’ve now learnt that February the 1st marks Imbolc. It is a Pagan festival that marks the mid-point between winter and spring. Life is beginning to slowly stir again. Every day is getting longer and the light and energy is returning. I’m also looking forward to Nirvana day which Buddhists celebrate in February. I will be spring cleaning and decluttering and then donating items to charity.

My garden allotment is slowly coming along and the first seeds are beginning to germinate. Thankyou to everyone on here for inspiring me. 🙏🤟