What We Are Making Space For in the New Year - Newsletter #48

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There is something tender about the last stretch of the year. The way everything seems to slow down just enough for us to catch our breath. The way the edges soften. The way reflection rises to the surface without us even asking for it.

This is the moment when the world wants us to jump straight into resolutions. Big declarations. Fresh starts. Clean slates. But I have learned that before we decide what we want to do in the new year, we need to get honest about what we want to make space for.

Space is powerful. It is where creativity rests until it is ready. It is where ideas gather. It is where courage stretches and steadies itself. It is where we meet our future selves with a little more patience and a lot more grace.

The older I get, the more I realize that growth is not about stacking more onto our plates. It is about creating room for the important things to breathe. The things that have been whispering for our attention while we kept moving too fast to hear them.

So this year, instead of writing a list of resolutions, I am asking myself a different question.

What do I want to make space for?

I want to make space for rest that actually restores me. Not the half-rest where I am technically off but still thinking about the next task. I mean the kind of rest that settles in my bones. The kind that reminds me I am human, not a machine. The kind that lets joy rise naturally instead of forcing its way through exhaustion.

I want to make space for creativity. Not the tidy kind, but the messy, curious, playful kind. The kind that shows up when you stop trying to control it. The kind that asks you to follow a spark even when you are not sure where it leads. Creativity needs room to stretch. It needs time. It needs air.

I want to make space for connection. True connection. The kind that does not rely on perfectly crafted messages or polished moments. The kind built on honest conversations and gentle check-ins. The kind that grows from showing up as you are and letting others do the same.

I want to make space for the work that feels aligned. Not just the work that fills the calendar, but the work that fills me. The projects that give back as much as they take. The collaborations that feel like shared purpose rather than obligation. The ideas that leave me more energized than drained.

I want to make space for being louder than comfort allows. For gathering with my sisters, allies and with women who are done shrinking, done whispering, done waiting politely while rights, voices, and truths are negotiated away. I want to make space for pushing back with clarity, humor, intelligence, and joy. For saying “no” without footnotes and “enough” without apology. For rooms where we tell the truth, protect each other, sharpen each other, and remember that collective presence is power. This year, I’m making space for courage that sounds like laughter, resistance that looks like community, and a refusal to normalize the unacceptable, together.

And I want to make space for joy. Consistent, intentional joy. Not the once in a while kind. Not the kind that waits for perfect conditions. I want the everyday joy. The spark in a conversation. The glimmer in a quiet morning. The stretch of laughter that interrupts a long day. The small reminders that we are allowed to feel good in the middle of the busy.

Here is the truth. We cannot invite new things into our lives without clearing a little room first. We cannot expand while gripping tightly to everything we carried this year. We cannot grow while standing in the same shape.

So before we look forward, maybe we begin here. With space. With honesty. With a gentle return to the things that matter.

You do not need to overhaul your life to begin a new chapter. You do not need a perfect plan. You do not need to reinvent yourself. You simply need to create room for the parts of you that have been waiting patiently.

Space is permission. Space is clarity. Space is possibility.

As you move into the new year, ask yourself what deserves more room. What fills you. What calls to you. What has been nudged aside for too long. Let those things lead. Let them guide the shape of your days. Let them remind you that becoming is not a sprint. It is a gentle unfolding.

I hope this year gives you space to rest, to wonder, to grow, to connect, and to create. I hope it gives you room to feel more like yourself. I hope it brings you closer to the things that make your life rich and meaningful.

And I hope, more than anything, that you make space for joy. Because joy has a way of lighting the path ahead, one bright moment at a time.

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