A Midwinter Check-In: Where Are You, Really?

We’ve arrived at the end of the first month of the year and before we start rushing forward, I want to pause and ask a simple but powerful question: Where are you?
Where are you literally in your body, your space, your rhythm? And where are you figuratively, in your thoughts, your energy, your sense of direction?

Consider this an invitation to check in.

Can you sit for a moment and assess how you are feeling, what you are doing, and how it all settles within you? Can you do it without judgment? Try not to label it as good or bad, no chasing highs or avoiding lows? Perhaps just a gentle noticing, with a bit of spaciousness and detachment.

And then, can you allow the emotions to be there?

Do not try to “fix” them. Do not try to explain them away. Just let them have their say, remembering that emotions are temporary visitors, not permanent residents. When we allow ourselves to feel without resistance, we can often discover clarity, wisdom, and movement where we least expect it.

Winter, by nature, offers us this kind of permission. It is a season of slowing down, of hibernation, of restoration. It is also a powerful threshold, a time to reset, reassess, and quietly envision what wants to emerge next.

What if this season isn’t asking you to do more, but to listen more deeply?

I’m checking in with you and I’m doing the same with myself. Life is lived and felt within us first as individuals, and then collectively. In challenging times, and even in joyful extremes, we are not meant to do it alone. Support, community, connection, and grounding traditions help us stay present and rooted as we move through it all.

So let’s pause. Let’s notice. Let’s feel it.
And then

let’s live.