From Resolutions to Mindful Transitions - Mini Thoughts

What if the secret to a fulfilling new year isn't about chasing happiness but embracing transformation? As we kick off 2025, we explore this radical notion and invite you to shift your focus from setting countless New Year’s resolutions to nurturing your inner peace. Whether it’s the cold and dark days of winter or the bright and warm moments you’re basking in, this episode encourages you to honour your environment's natural rhythms and find joy in life's lessons. We discuss the societal pressures of January, the transition from December's festive warmth, and how to gracefully navigate these shifts with introspection and presence.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:38

So hello, dear listeners, and welcome to the first 2025 podcast. And it is an immutable wet day as I record this and it feels like there's so much pressure for like the new year on everybody and also I think it's a day that we New Year's Day, I feel, is a day that we should have a quiet kind of me time, and there's a lot of pressure sometimes when we're bombarded by messages from loved ones, which is a very nice thing to receive, don't get me wrong but at the same time, I feel it's a day to kind of be quiet and go within, and we kind of tend to follow trends and people say like Happy New Year. And by that very statement, it feels like you must be happy all the time, and that is virtually impossible. We can learn to accept and find the joy in life's lessons, even if they're difficult. That is a different kind of concept of feeling like, happy, like, and I would say to people have a transformative new year instead of saying happy new year. It just feels more realistic and I've said this in previous years, but I'm just recapping to all of you as a reminder that it isn't January especially where I am in the UK is not the time to be setting millions of goals.

Speaker 1: 2:03

Any time of the UK is not the time to be setting millions of goals. Any time of the year is not a time to be setting millions of goals. Find one thing that you wish to change and pick something that you can do within the time. So it's cold and wet here, so maybe picking to do um, outdoor running might not be the best month to start it. Maybe do something else this month and do the outdoor running next month, just as an example, and find ways in which you can learn to bloom in your individual and beautiful, unique way, without the pressures of feeling like you have to be everything at once. Have to be everything at once. And finding that time is that the earth is still very dark and the light is still very faint at this time of the year. Here or wherever you are, it might be very bright, but working with that energy. So if it's a new year where you are and it's hot, then go for it. If it's a new year where you are and it's cold and dark, then just remember. Just as animals, nature's trees, everything needs to hibernate, then so do we as beings, and the theme for this year feels very much about being in the moment and finding that inner stillness within all of this.

Speaker 1: 3:14

And it can be easier said and done when many of us are returning to work tomorrow and what that that entails, where, as I always noticed before Christmas, everyone's so happy and kind and that's how we could generally be um most of our life, or rather kind of more friendly but also sincere. And then January even seems to be a bit more kind of angry and reserved or miserable, and it can have a knock-on effect, and especially with the, the weather that they're pumping out today in the universe, it's not the best for people to feel at that vibrant vibrancy, but instead of fighting against it, work with it. So maybe you wanted to go for a new year's day walk. I certainly did, but then there's high winds and it's very wet here, so unfortunately I didn't get what I wanted, and sometimes that can feel disappointing in life and I've got a very busy day tomorrow, so I'm not going to get to do my walk. Then, however, I will find ways to kind of find that connection with nature by taking some calm, deep breaths, looking at the house plants, finding a way to kind of go within and as, as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, which is like you know. You could just think, oh, it's a tart lemon, but actually you can make something very delicious out of it, and there's lots of vitamin c in lemon as well. But I digress. So can you find your way to be in the moment, and I'm not going to make this podcast long this week, because I know what time of year it is and we don't need kind of great big, long lectures on how to be. So, for the simplicity and the joy and the beauty of the moment, let's learn to connect in with the now.

Speaker 1: 5:00

And to help you with that, we're going to do a one-minute meditation. Top tips for the meditation is either sit nice and cross-legged on the floor with a nice straight back, always nice to sit on a block or a cushion, although that's not available for you. You sit in a chair with the back nice and straight. The important thing is you're not slouching, and if you're doing something that requires a little concentration, all you need to do is just pause this and you can reconvene the meditation at a time that is good for you and then just slowly start to become aware of the noises in the room. Take a long, deep inhalation, a long deep exhalation, knowing that go, gentle, be caring, kind to yourself, work with your abilities, set yourself a simple goal. Maybe it's a. Maybe you use january to decide what you want to do for the rest of the year feels more calm and realistic. Anyway, over and out, speak to you soon. Bye.