January 2026
Will We Travel Lightly in 2026?
Listen to the audio version by Dorothy
Welcome to this first month of 2026, when we transition from all that 2025 held, into a new year, with its many possibilities. Have you travelled lightly into January, releasing anything that weighed you down? The only quotation on my refrigerator reminds me that if I want to fly, I have to give up the stuff that weighs me down. Reflecting on your life, what comes to mind that might weigh you down? Mine continues to be an excess of paper and numerous notebooks containing references that I might need for current projects at the time, and another big one for me - borrowing a phrase from my nephew, which is not his plight - is pushing a so-called good idea to the front of the queue, instead of staying with my intended focus!
While the Christmas season is very special to me, I equally enjoy putting away the lights and decorations prior to the end of New Year's Eve, looking at my home in a new light, resulting in clearing and some donations made to a local thrift store. Last week, with the help of a friend, I reduced the contents of my locker, containing a number of large empty boxes. We know that everything contains energy, so it isn't necessarily the object itself, but the energy we give it - how it makes us feel - that determines whether we let it go, or keep it. I had kept the boxes 'just in case' ... I might need them, might move. Most had been there for the past ten years. Was I planning to move? Not at this time and, when I do, whenever that is, new boxes will appear.
We know we can't go back to the beginning of 2025 and change anything; it ended as it did with our lives as they were, at that present moment in time. However, we can decide on how we would like to proceed ... and here's the crunch ... it starts now! Is there a health / weight / relationship / clutter / fill-in-the-blank issue you want to see have a different outcome? What baby step can you take, starting now? Perhaps you need a support buddy? Asking for and accepting support can be a courageous step, but it may be the kindest gift you can give yourself ... as I did by accepting my friend's offer, along with having her fresh outlook, that helped me clear my storage locker, AND saved me a huge amount of time going back and forth to the cardboard bin.
Would you agree with me that, in addition to clearing any 'stuck' energy, being grateful for what we achieve has value beyond measure? The Scottish writer, Neil Gunn, believed that all of us have great moments in our lives, which he called 'atoms of delight'. He felt it was important to celebrate such times, to gather them up like inner treasures. Each of our treasures will be different, but each will be special. I read in my 2018 annual Friendship Book that in some calendars January is referred to as National Thank-you-month. If, weather-wise, January is a bit bleak, finding something to be thankful for each day throughout the month can give us a smile, warm our hearts and remind us that spring is on its way. When living in Victoria I delighted that my favourite flowers, the snowdrops, were already in bloom in Beacon Hill Park in January. I had a ritual at my previous home that on December 1st each year I checked that they were already above ground; sure enough, they were. Today, a pot on my balcony with a snowdrop is one of my 'atoms of delight', along with daylight that is gradually returning earlier each day.
During my year-end reflection time I asked myself some serious questions: What kind of a year do I want to be living this time next year - do I want the same scurry that has been my lifetime style? ... No! Some health challenges last year were a wake-up call, so high on my list has continued with mindful health practices, identifying priorities, and asking: Is this mine to do - now; later? Or, not to do! The learning continues, hopefully by ceasing to push too many non-urgent items to the top of the queue!
As we move along the pathway of 2026, let's be on the lookout for our 'atoms of delight', mindfully travel lightly in good health with personal visions that speak to our hearts, create new memories, laugh often and have high hopes ... just like the little ant in the lyrics sung by Frank Sinatra, that wanted to move a rubber tree plant!
Until next time, I'll close by sharing an expression used by a long-time friend in Geneva, Switzerland, who ended one of our calls with 'until very soon', telling me the French expression was à bientôt.
So, à bientôt ... until very soon, when we meet again ... Take good care of yourself. Blessèd be!
Dorothy B.
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Rev. Dorothy Blandford, Ph.D
Apt. 202 - 1655 Martin Drive
Surrey, BC, V4A 6E1, Canada
604-535-9016
info@innisfreespirit.com