January, it always seems to me, is the very worst month to resolve to ‘do better’. It is the very best month for hunkering down with a good book … it is an excellent month for log fires and hot chocolate … January seems like a fine time for a little less of all the healthy stuff, and a lot more of the comforting bits.
So that is exactly how January turned out for us.
But February … what about February?
February has some good stuff … take Shrove Tuesday, or what I like to think of drizzle in golden syrup as Pancake Day.
It has a tantalising hint of Spring.
We live deep in rural France so nature is not just on our doorstep, it does its thing by brushing right up against us; we tend to notice it more. The birds are active … green shoots are appearing (they might get a shock from the forecast frost) … the moles are tilling the soil in our kitchen garden (whether we like it or not) … this week, a bee stirred, drawn out by a sustained burst of sunshine.
So Spring … renewal, positive intentions, freshening up. It makes sense, huh?
Way more sense than starting all the new stuff in dank, dark, chilly January.
I was pondering this as I pedalled today … where do you do your best thinking?
An hour and a half on my bike, 30-or so kilometres, is just the right amount of thinking time. Enough to formulate the thoughts and not lose them in a will-o-the-wisp moment of midlife forgetfulness.
I cycled, I saw (clearly), I conquered captured. Time for a little more of some things and a lot less of others.
When it comes to MORE or LESS for me, I suspect it is about turning the dial. Reducing, not cutting out, increasing gently, not throwing in a whole bunch of new stuff and hoping it will stick.
The headline, of course, is more analogue and less digital.
Instagram feels like it takes more than it offers, so taking a month away from it (apart from Direct Messages - it’s where I chat to my Mum, after all) makes sense. I binned The Artist Formally Known as Twitter 18 months ago and FaceBook last Summer (after four years of inactivity) … the sense of freedom was palpable so I sense a new wave of culling.
My telephone is - for some bizarre reason - the thing I pick up first when I am boiling the kettle for my morning hot water + lemon. No sensible reason, just habit. Way more intention about that device will be a strong start.
Wine … yep, living in France, habit. I’ll be going ‘less but better’ this month.
Cooked breakfasts … every day. Of course, I have a
reasonexcuse. Fuel for cycling/work around the farm/using stuff up. So, this month, far fewer … maybe I will just save them for the weekend.YouTube - not just less … cold turkey. None. Stop Wasting My Life.
I have some words of French … sometimes, I persuade myself that I not only have enough words but that I fling them around in the right sort of order. Not true. And the only way to learn more is not to keep flinging the same words around, it is to knuckle down and learn more. More learning, fewer excuses!
I only read at night, sat in bed. Why not take advantage of freeing up time (see No 2 and No 5) and pick up a book? Win/Win.
When it comes to MORE, I need to dial up the cycling. Most months I set a target of 600 kilometres. Not having a car helps but December and January were brimful of excuses for not pedalling. I have a 2,300 kilometre adventure from Scotland to Portugal lined up for June and that bike won’t pedal itself.
Talking of No 8, get outdoors. Find fewer excuses for staying inside.
We have a small part of an old farm in France. There’s lots more that could be done with it; more planting, more repairs, more efficient layout, longer term view. I’ve been using adventuring as an excuse for not doing that. This month I’ll be getting stuck into some winter jobs, to build some momentum for the spring.
Writing is the thing that brings me joy. Why, then, do I not do more of it? This month, I’ll be committing. I’ll be putting pen to paper every day. Including, but not limited to, the story I drafted two years ago - ‘Against The Tide’ - I’ve started re-writing it - there, I said it out loud.
That’s it … a simple commitment to me.
It is a determination to take active steps to be more committed to some of things I know will make me better (however we measure that).
This is accountability, spoken aloud; an encouragement.
Did anyone else not do January resolutions?
Anyone else fancy a few modest adjustments?
Some changes, ‘more or less’.
Warmly
Barrie
I follow a spirituality that is Irish pagan based and I usually set my intentions for the new year at the spring equinox. For me January is completely unintuitive and a kind of man-made new years. But I set intentions many times throughout the year with different rituals and in different spaces. I appreciated your article and how your intentions seemed to align with your higher self and just living a better more wholistic life. Many blessings
I just wanted to share how much I enjoyed reading this today, especially the part about being more analogue and less digital. It’s been a while since I’ve been on social media, so diving into this felt like such a treat. It’s like connecting with you both beyond the screens of Instagram, and it really warms my heart—almost like getting a lovely letter from a friend! I'm not sure who penned this so please give my love to your other half if you will. Keep spreading all that joy!