January at last…
Finally and firstly, the best month of the entire year: January. It makes me sigh with contentment. And even better, it’s followed by February, the next best month of the year. That’s two whole (or nearly) months of the ripest, sweetest time I’ll get out of the entire year. Why are these months so great? Well, it’s winter of course! Even though it’s still relatively dark, the dreariness of fall clears away in January making way for cleaner, brighter, colder days – the days I love the most. At this time of year I can sit back and enjoy the peaceful bliss of winter without the pressures and conflations of the holidays. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is great, but post-Christmas winter is pure white gold. I experience something completely opposite to the after Christmas let down, instead I’m infused with a sense of relaxation and optimism. There is freedom, possibility, and space through January and February all dusted magically with ice and snow.
New beginnings…
January feels clean and fresh like an early dawn cresting pink and light blue on the horizon. It’s cozy yet exhilarating like being blasted by a freezing cold wind while bundled warmly in a downy coat, knit gloves, and a thick scarf, or like the first hot bitter sip of the first cup of coffee of the day. Everything is new! Everything is ahead! Everything can get a reset or a new start in January. That’s a beautiful thing, but there is an art to it. January isn’t quite the pale green of new branches or the pink skin of new born creatures. Nothing has quite emerged just yet in this new beginning. January is at the heart of the great pause in between the old and new. January is pale, ice cold white, and dark. It’s the subtle unseen time of incubation, the before of that which is to be. It can be easy to push aside the cold dark of January and jump immediately into strong action after the new year, but rushing in is a path to burnout. Instead, January offers a time of rooting, a time for building momentum that will ultimately appear to blast suddenly into sight but is really the result of a slow build. A good friend of mine who is a seasoned yoga practitioner often emphasizes the importance of feet. She will advocate for just standing (mountain pose) and feeling the strength and balance of the foundation in the feet supporting the entire posterior chain holding up the body and creating the potential for movement. January is a month for feeling feet. That’s not to say that action can’t be taken, but rather to temper that action with building good fundamentals, support structures, and foundations as a primary focus.
Space…
Feeling into the pause, the space between things, opens a different kind of mode of life than in other months of the year. January is like a low key, no pressure old friend who looks great like they’ve really been taking care of themselves. I could sit and chat with January over a cozy cup of tea by the firesdie watching the snow fall outside the window and never tire of the conversation. And January is the kind of friend whom you can relax in comfortable silence with just enjoying their presence without needing to say a word. January exudes spaciousness and a chance to be without form or to inhabit new form in the remaining dark. It’s exciting to me to wake up into a new year and to begin again with a crisp breath of winter air.
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