Hey, Reader,

Happy New Year (calendar-wise), and especially continued wintering. 🖤 Rest, deep sleep, contemplation, and generally doing as little as possible have been my life since mid-December. The Northern Hemisphere is in the thick of the winter, and especially here in Scandinavia, it's the darkest time of the year. In Slovenia, where I am from, the nights between the winter solstice and Epiphany (January 6th) are called wolf nights.

Our ancestors believed that the veil between the underworld and the human world is particularly thin these days and that the dead, demons, witches, and other creatures of the underworld can be found roaming the woods during this time, so it is also known under the name of Wild Hunt or Divja Jaga in Slovenian and Slavic mythology. It is also a time when wolves hunt in packs and attack livestock because food is scarce in the thick of winter. And it feels like this for me internally: deep rest and feeding my inner wild. 🐺

I couldn't be further - energetically - from the New Year vibes in the digital sphere, with people setting ambitious goals and New Year's resolutions, initiating relentless chasing, putting structures in place, and "new year, new me" energy. I'm more in the "let's hibernate until March, take slow walks in the dark forest, light some candles, cook hearty stews and cuddle up under my SUPERTHICK duvet and read a good book" kind of energy.

Here is a torchlight photography experiment with the trees from my recent night walk in Sweden. I prefer to walk in the dark, but this time, the kids came along, and the torchlight revealed something new.

The land is resting now, the world covered in darkness, sleeping, composting, and regenerating. And so am I. I am in no rush to set intentions for the year, and I quit setting goals some years back. This weekend, we spent some time reviewing our year as a family and cleaned out stuff we no longer need - metaphorically and literally. And now, it's slow pace until March when, for me, it feels like the energetic new year starts, and it's the time of my birthday, so literally a new year in my cycle of life. I literally have no clue what the future will bring, as lots of my projects and ideas are also on pause right now. It feels so right and so nourishing to just be.

So, here is an offering to you: What if, instead of hustling, you are invited into the darkness of uncertainty? What if now is a time to meet your inner wild, the holder of your wisdom, intuition, and collective potential for transformation? What if this is the time for deep alchemy - the inner "cooking" of new ideas for the changes up ahead? What if it is ok to let go of the linear thinking and toxic productivity myths - by embracing the wintering energy? ❄️ Why not slow down and read Wintering by Katherine May? 📖🕯️

It feels to me that this is exactly our wild work right now, collectively: not trying to tame the hunt by directing the energy outwards but turning it inwards and flowing with it, nourishing our inner wild through the natural cycles of nature. 🌿✨🐺

Go ahead - it's ok; the work will still be there in a little while.

With wildly restful energy,

Martina

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Curious poke What is a belief, a story or a truth that you need to let go of to embrace the wintering period? What does darkness offer you? What inner wild is calling you to nourish it?

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I am a fellow creative leader, a certified Co-Active coach and a strategic designer. I bring 20 years of experience and expertise in digital innovation, experience design, leadership and education.

I help stressed creative team leaders reclaim their creative confidence and self-belief to shape cultures and work that matters (and have fun with it again). Together, we create new possible futures. ☀️

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