January often arrives heavy with expectation, urging us to move faster, decide more, become something new.

But winter has never worked that way.

In this opening episode of 2026, I begin not with resolutions or reflection prompts, but with an old folktale.

The Twelve Months is a traditional Eastern European winter story, retold from The Telling of the Seasons, in which a young girl is sent into the frozen forest on an impossible task. There, she encounters the twelve months of the year gathered around a fire, led by Old Mother January, keeper of winter’s law and time’s turning.

What follows is a story about humility, patience, seasonal wisdom, and the quiet power of asking, rather than demanding, life to unfold.

After the story, I reflect on what this tale teaches us about January, modern life, and the pressure to rush growth before its time. This episode is an invitation to move gently into the new year, to trust your winter pace, and to remember that rest, waiting, and listening are not failures — they are sacred practices.

This is an episode for anyone who feels out of step with “new year, new you” culture, and longs for a slower, more honest beginning.

Light the fire.
Winter knows what it’s doing.

Telling the Seasons book by Martin Maudsley

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