January and July are fundamentally two different months in every sense that they can be, yes? January sees us in the depths of winter, emerging from the holiday season, blinking warily at a turned calendar page wondering how we are at an actual new year. July gives us the promise of summer, long days and short nights, long walks amongst daisies in the grass, contemplating lazily, the meaning of life.
So much space between these months.
One whispered of things to come. One showed you exactly what has come and what has arrived.
I look back at January and remember that while many people were hitting the ground running and maybe had their entire year mapped out, I wasn't really ready to dive into the deep end of this new year. I wasn't raring to go. Far from it. December had been unexpectedly hard for me, so I wanted to ease in to 2024. I am really glad that I did that for many reasons, but I honestly think I needed to burrow and cocoon and let the winter unfold as it needed to. I needed spring to unleash a new and profound energy in me and give depth to my perception.
I needed the hibernation of January to get to the sparkle of July.
"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that really isn't you, so you can be who you were really meant to be in the first place". -Paulo Coelho
This quote sums up my 2024 journey so far. I feel like sometimes on this journey of being human, we can sometimes lose our way. Maybe the path that we've been on, sometimes for years, turns out not to be quite what we expected or wanted and now we need to pivot. Or maybe our life circumstances have changed, and we have had to change along with it. And maybe, just maybe, we are finally, for the first time in our lives, finally leaning into who we were always meant to be.
Are you also a butterfly, finally shedding their chrysalis, ready to spread your wings and fly?
July has been whispering sweet nothings to me, heady scents of flowers, salty airs of the ocean. She tells me to dance in the sunshine and to be grateful for the early morning cool breeze that dissipates before midday. Most importantly she tells me to live each moment, really take it in, because that is all that life is... a series of moments.
And this my friends, is one of the most profound differences between January and July for me. January, I didn't know what was happening and felt discombobulated and that felt slightly unnerving. July, I know that I don't always know what is going to happen, but I stay in the moment and trust the process.
One big thing for me...
I now fully lean into the word writer, for that is what I am. Before 2024, I may have waffled a bit at such a big word and questioning, well am I really, but the hemming and hawing stopped this past spring. I. Am. A. Writer. It isn’t required to have a stack of books with my name on it (which would be lovely obviously, but honestly it is okay that I don't have that right now) to know that I put pen to page, and I write. I publish my words here on Substack and look to bettering my craft and achieving writerly success in the best way that I know how.
I am a writer and my goodness does that feel freeing to say.
How am I doing so far, seven months into 2024? I am writing and working towards my goals and dreams, and I have to say, it feels magical.
How are you doing so far for 2024? Let us know in the comments so that we can share in the highs and lows right along with you 💕
🌺 Joining in with
and the Sparkle on Substack 24 Essays Club 🌺
I love this so much Mackenzie, I felt very much the same at the beginning of the year, so much has shifted since then. I would agree that I am now only just starting to lean into what is emerging, whilst shaking myself off from that part of the journey. It feels like starting over, which is both daunting and exciting at the same time. 🤗
I love remembering back to January when July rolls around. I think they have the same deep energy of rest, though they manifest in two different way in two different seasons. January is a month, after the depth of the winter solstice, to rest and recalibrate as a new year slowly unfolds. July, after the height of the summer solstice, is a time to rest and reconnect in the height of the bright, warm days of summer. Both times help us reset and move forward into the coming six months. 🫶🏻
Good job on claiming yourself as writer! What an amazing step! 💫