A Bumpy Beginning

Let me start with a belated wish for a light-filled year ahead. I intended to write a piece at the beginning January, but life was quite bumpy for me during the first month of the year. It seems many others I know have experienced a bumpy start to the year as well.

Without going into details, January was a month filled with personal messages to slow my roll and not force myself to jump into anything beyond what was most immediate. I managed to keep editing and publishing projects moving forward last month, for which I’m grateful (and I’m certain my clients are as well), but the little extras of writing on Substack or my blog, sending out a newsletter, and posting on social media all went on hold. Even catch-up calls and lunch dates with friends were postponed.

Resources and Reminders

I’m grateful for the many tools, resources, and people in my life who offer support, guidance, and grounding when I most need it—those special friends and mentors who remind me that, although we will encounter difficult times in our lives, it’s imperative that we pause, make assessments, and find our way through those moments, whether they are happening within our personal lives or in the world beyond our front doors.

I was also reminded that the season of winter is intended to be a time to nurture the quiet and go within, and January showed me just how important that mini-hibernation was to my overall well-being. Although I was very much aware of what was happening beyond the community where I live, I needed to tend to my mental and physical health by taking some time away from the daily news to care for myself. And I had to remind myself that this was for my longevity, even though it felt selfish. A huge lesson itself!

Winter’s Midpoint

As we’ve moved beyond the midpoint of winter, I feel myself beginning to thaw and reaching toward the sun. Although still wrapped in a shawl or blanket and wearing my UGGs most of the time, it feels good to stretch and move and spend more time soaking in the sunshine. I know the time is coming for me to emerge from the bubble of protection I built around myself.

This necessary pause prompted me to consider what can happen to any of us when we are working on writing or other creative endeavors. When life interrupts the flow of our intentions, we have at least two choices: to push through, no matter the cost to us physically, mentally, and emotionally, or we can give ourselves the grace to pause and tend to what’s happening. We might be dealing with physical concerns, as I faced last year after my fall, or we might be dealing with the need to find balance emotionally. Often, the two go hand in hand, which has been my experience since the beginning of 2026.

Year of the Wood Snake

In 2025, I considered the Chinese zodiac more than ever before. Last year was the Year of the Wood Snake, and we are still in it until mid-February. I believe I was especially drawn to the Chinese zodiac this past year because we had three snakes living with us. Today, one “little girl,” Delphi, remains part of our home, and she shows me what it’s like to go through a shedding process. She also models how to take in sustenance and rest in between her sheds as she continues to grow. Like her, January asked me to consider what I need to do to be in the process of release, rest, and reset—to make space for my continued growth.

Life’s interruptions can feel overwhelming, even debilitating at times, but when we are able to stay present to what is happening and move through those times consciously, they can open the doorway to hope, possibility, and a clear sense of direction. I’ve lived through this cycle in the past, having faced health challenges and family struggles, and know I’ve always found my way back to the light. Today is not different; I’m once again finding my way and can see the sunlight breaking through the dark clouds overhead.

Year of the Fire Horse

For anyone who follows or is drawn to the Chinese zodiac (and I need to point out that I have a cursory understanding of it), we are heading into the Year of the Fire Horse. We have not experienced the Fire Horse in sixty years, and it promises to be a powerful time, with unstoppable intense “wildfire” momentum that offers purification and deep transformation. A time of change and breakthrough. A time to ignite our passion and gain clarity. A time to let our truest and deepest selves shine—to dream big, think big, and shift in big ways. A time to be visible.

This year holds the promise of possibility. So, if you, like me, have felt a bumpiness to the beginning of the year, I encourage you to consider what you can shed and release during this winter season that will allow you to grow and expand in preparation for spring.

Intentions for 2026

With the energy of the year ahead, I’ve made a commitment to myself to get back to writing my second memoir. My intention is to have the first draft completed by the end of 2026. As scary as it is to make such a public declaration, I sense the impulse to “get to it.” I hear the call that it’s time. And I feel the need to respond with serious momentum. To activate this intention, I’ve now joined with a friend to be on Zoom once a week for two hours and write together. It feels good to have put a plan into action and taken one step forward.

What intentions have you set for yourself to nurture your creativity and connect you more deeply to your passions and desires? What actions are you considering or have you put in place to begin? What do you need to release to make room for that expansion?

If writing is a form of expression for you, I invite you to come write with me and others. Beginning on February 27, our Wisdom Holders Writing Circles will resume. On the fourth Friday of each month, we gather for two hours from 1-3PM MST. Starting with a prompt, we then move into what you want to focus on—whether to journal your way through what’s been lying in wait or to work on a project, including writing that may become part of something larger … maybe even a book.

Our Spring 2026 Women’s Writing Retreat is set for April 24 through May 2 and will take place once again at Highland Haven Creekside Inn in Evergreen, Colorado. I limit the retreat to six women, to offer plenty of private coaching time throughout the week and the opportunity for each woman to share their writing in circle each evening. Currently, we have three people registered. Private and shared rooms are available plus one cottage. Prior to the retreat, I offer two hours to meet with attendees individually over Zoom and a follow-up session during the month following the retreat. If you’re wondering whether this might be just what you need to foster your writing, please reach out to me privately to learn more.

Whatever your intentions may be for the year ahead,
my wish for you is that you tap into your deepest desires and passions.
And may 2026 become a year of deeper insights and personal transformation.