In 2025, I have stopped writing my month end ‘Dear Self’ letters. Instead, I’m going to continue Sarah E Westfall‘s lovely four words exercise and blog around it. I’m a little late to share my four words to the end January 2025 here, but I haven’t been in the best of health over the last two weeks.
Before I share my words, I’m sharing my vision board that I created at the start of the year.
I really had fun creating this on Canva. It’s a simple exercise in manifesting what I want to focus on throughout the year.
4 Words To End January 2025
Focus
In January, I did my best to stay consistent and present with my rituals. Despite some setbacks, I felt overall I focused on keeping up with my rituals.
Connection
I also prioritized reconnecting with friends and strengthening my relationships. I enjoyed two café meetings; a breakfast get-together with two lovely neighbors and a pre-birthday lunch with a friend. Both times felt important, reminding me how great it is to connect with people face-to-face, so I’m going to do that more. I bonded more closely with José by engaging in more quality conversations and sharing. We have found a very inspiring set of reflections that we read together every evening. I realized the importance of presence, connection, and making time for loved ones through these interactions.
Illness
Mid-month, I came down with the flu—and unfortunately passed it on to Jose. Just as I was recovering, I fell ill again in the last week of January. This setback really messed with my routine—walks, blogging, even my journaling! My inability to maintain my usual routine frustrated and disheartened me. Still, I kept reminding myself to go slow and steady. I’ve learned to dig deep, focus on small wins, and get through each day by simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Writing
“What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God within me and experience how I am led to new places.”-Henri Nouwen.
I wrote a lot. Through regular blogging, I explored my thoughts and ideas. I did a writing challenge too, and it made me experiment with different styles and themes. I also found writing with others really motivating and connecting, especially at our Wednesday morning group sessions. Mindful writing with Amanda Saint on Zoom was great for connecting with writers from another part of the world and being inspired by them.
In other news
- We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary this month.
- This month made 4 years since our Pablo passed.
- I posted a picture a day on Instagram. Since I skipped walks I had to sometimes dig into my archives.
- I participated in Beth Kempton’s #tinywinterpoem challenge on Instagram and enjoyed it.
Quote of the month
Lord, help me see the progress I’m making, not just the times I still fall short. – Sharon Jaynes
I give thanks for the month that was January and move forward with faith and hope into February.
I hope your January was a good one!
♥
Corinne
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Happy 18th anniversary. Coincidentally, this year is also our 18th wedding anniversary. I hope you are feeling better now. I know you struggled and were upset that you couldn’t write as much in January. At the beginning of January, I was also down with a lung infection. Nevertheless, I feel optimistic about 2025. I hope the rest of this year will be beautiful for you and Jose.
January seems to have brought more than its share of illness. I am glad you kept your focus and continued posting and writing inspite of it all. I love the quote at the end. It’s something I have to keep reminding myself of.
I love those stickers, Corinne. So cute!
Illness was a theme for me too in January. I love this idea of summing the month in four words. But for some reason, I could never sum up mine.